Mangalore, May 19: Responding to the long-standing demand of coffee growers, the Mangalore Electricity Supply Company Limited (MESCOM) has taken a significant decision to waive interest on pumpset electricity bills up to 10HP.
Registered coffee growers will be given a 90-day grace period to pay the outstanding principal bill amount in installments or in one go. MESCOM has decided to issue a notice to the growers soon.
It has been a long-standing demand of coffee growers that they should also be given free electricity up to 10HP. Coffee is a commercial crop and was not included in the subsidy in 2008 as they felt that they were financially sound.
Coffee growers not paying electricity bills since 2022:
In 2022, the then CM Basavaraj Bommai had announced in the assembly that free electricity would be provided to pump sets up to 10 HP used by coffee growers. Before this, the then Energy Minister had also bowed to the farmers’ struggle and announced free electricity. However, the government had not issued an order.
Since then, coffee growers had not been paying their electricity bills. A few months later, the BJP government lost power and the Siddaramaiah-led Congress government came to power. The growers had not paid their bills, leaving MESCOM alone with an outstanding electricity bill of about Rs 14 crore.
The growers kept drawing the attention of the CM, ministers and MLAs. The Energy Minister held a meeting and after consulting with senior officials, came to the conclusion that the respective power companies could take the appropriate decision. Meanwhile, some growers have proposed that they are ready to pay the principal amount of the outstanding bill and that the interest should be waived. Although some have paid the bill, it has been compensated for with interest.
If the electricity bill remains outstanding for a long time, some processes will have to be taken, including disconnection and recovery action. In this regard, the decision to waive interest has been taken, and MESCOM will lose about Rs. 4 crore. However, it is expected to receive Rs. 10 crore in principal in three months.
90-day time limit for payment of electricity bill principal
The MESCOM board of directors meeting decided to waive interest on electricity bills of coffee growers and it has been decided to issue a notice giving 90 days to pay the principal amount.
There are about four thousand coffee growers under MESCOM, out of which only about 990 have registered, and the interest waiver will be applicable to them. The rest have to upload their documents on the Seva Sindhu portal and register.
Coffee growers from Mudigere, Chikkamagaluru, Koppa, Sringeri, N.R.Pura, and Shivamogga will come under the scope of MESCOM. If Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (SESC) also takes a similar decision, it will be of great benefit to coffee growers in Hassan and Kodagu districts.
After the previous government announced free electricity, coffee growers have not paid the bill and are owing about Rs. 14 crore to MESCOM. We have taken an important decision to waive off the interest. This will result in a loss of about Rs. 4 crore, but it will benefit the growers.