The industrialists are refusing to pay the arrears, claiming that they are not paying the trunk line fees that they did not demand and that they have been paying regular amounts.
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After the interim government's Energy and Water Resources Minister Kulman Ghising decided to collect the dedicated-trunkline dues in the first decision, the businessmen have become panicked.
Even when he was the director of the authority, Ghising had been asking the industrialists to pay the amount for trunk line billing. However, the industrialists are reluctant to pay the arrears claiming that they are not paying the trunk line fees that they did not demand and that they have been paying regular amounts.
35 small industries within the Lumbini province including Bhairahwa, Butwal, Kapilvastu, Dang, Nepalganj, Rolpa, including those under the Lumbini Industrial Corridor of Nawalparasi and Ruppandehi, have to pay 2 billion 1377776000 dues to the authority . Among the 35 industries, Arghakhanchi Cement has the highest amount of Rs 448,432,000 and Narayan Rubber Industry has the lowest amount of Rs 156,000.
According to the authority, the tariff is due to the consumption of power trunk lines by industries from January 2072 to April 2075. Industries used electricity 24 hours a day during load shedding. Despite taking the trunkline facility for 28 months, the industrialists have been claiming that they did not demand and did not use the trunkline during loadshedding. The authority has also provided the bill for the use of the trunk line only in November 2077 and now they are asking for additional fees, so the controversy has increased.
After the long-standing dispute between the authority and the industry regarding the trunk line tariff, last year, in coordination with the Ministry of Finance, the authority, the industry and the ministry agreed to pay the arrears monthly by considering the total period of 28 months as 28 installments for the industries that could not pay the electricity tariff used from January 2072 to May 2075 (during the load shedding period) . However, the Bhairahawa Distribution Center of the authority said that although only a few industrialists have paid the amount in this way, many industries are still reluctant to pay the amount.
Sanjay Kumar Mishra, head of Bhairahawa distribution center, said that no decision has been made from the top so far. He said that they will proceed according to the decision and instructions from above. "We have received information that the pre-executive director has come to the minister, and the decision has been made, but the letter has not arrived," he said, "We will go into implementation as soon as we receive the letter."
Baburam Bohora, the former president of Rupandehi Industry Association, said that the dispute is increasing because the authority has determined the tariff beyond the regulations made by the authority regarding dedicated and trunk line connections. He said that if the trunk line is connected by making a request, in the case of more than 6 hours of load shedding, the fee should be paid only if the electricity consumption is more than 20 hours per day.
'There is an economic recession in the market . In this situation, the industrialists who have been running the industry are now panicked after the Authority again asked for the payment of tariffs,' he said, 'It seems that this will create an obstacle in industrial development and economic progress.' He said that the Authority refused to implement the agreement coordinated by the Ministry of Finance after the former executive director became a minister. He said that he was looking for justice. "We are not in a position to pay the arrears that we did not demand," he said, "instead, we are ready to shut down the industry". "Government has to create an investment-friendly environment by guaranteeing peace and security to industrialists, but instead of doing so, it has prioritized the issue of trunk line. This has not only made the industrialists worried, but has also made them panic,' he said, 'The government and the authorities should be able to move forward in such a way that the industrialists are also treated through discussion, dialogue and consensus.'
The industrialists have asked to implement the report of the Lal Commission and not to consider the industry of other places and the industry of Lumbini Industrial Corridor in the same category . The industrialists claim that the Authority itself has made a rule not to provide dedicated trunk lines to any industry or organization after 2073. However, after 5 years in 2078, from Chait 2074 to 2076, the industries of Bhairawa-Butwal Corridor are in the trunk line, and they have started to pressurize to pay tariffs without proof of demand and consumption. .
