KOCHI: The Kerala High Court on Wednesday asked the state government whether it could pay the pending electricity charges of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) amounting to Rs 232 crore. The court also restrained the KSEB from disconnecting power supply to any of the KWA offices or pump houses. In turn, the KWA should not disconnect water supply to the KSEB. The court asked the Advocate-General to explain the government’s stand on Friday. A Division Bench comprising Justice C N Ramachandran Nair and Justice Babu Mathew P Joseph passed the order while considering a petition filed by the KSEB. The board challenged the Single Judge’s order to retain electricity connection to the office complex of the KWA in Malappuram.The petitioner submitted that the due amount was more than Rs 232 crore as on September 30, 2011.“The board is facing an acute financial crisis. Whenever there are arrears in electricity charges, the board has to avail of loans to make up for the deficit. This will result in unbearable interest burden on the board,” the petitioner had pointed out.According to the KSEB, the defaulters among domestic consumers are very few, and the biggest defaulter is the KWA. Taking into account its social commitment, the board had refrained from disconnecting the supply. The court observed that the dispute between the two state-owned agencies was a rare one. Since both departments are essential service providers to the public, the government should find out a solution. For settling these issues, there exists a high-powered committee but it appears to be very slow in taking decisions, the High Court observed.
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