Tepid response to Southcos OTS

BERHAMPUR: Notwithstanding the advertisement and publicity by the Southco, the One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme for payment of long-standing dues has failed to deliver the desired results.  The scheme initially introduced for commercial consumers was extended to domestic ones from January to April. But the response so far has been lukewarm. In Berhampur circle, the Southco had identified over 30,218 consumers with dues pending for long. The list includes Police colony and Ganjam Bar Association.While police sources said the dues were old and against earlier occupants of the quarters, the Bar members said they never received the bills. The Southco, however, said all consumers had been apprised of the  long pending dues and requested to avail of the OTS scheme which would have allowed them 40 per cent subsidy.The poor response could be attributed to the resentment among the people against Southco staff. They alleged that while the big fish were allowed concession, power supply to domestic consumers was immediately snapped for non-payment of dues. The distribution company had also failed to solve the problem of frequent load shedding and low voltage. With ` 4,115.59 lakh dues pending against the consumers, the company could collect only ` 493.29 lakh from 6,785 consumers till March-end. With hardly 7 days left for the closure of the scheme, the officials were not very optimistic with collection hovering around 30 per cent.