Siddharth Colony power dues climb to ₹120 crore

Residents say developer under SRA promised to clear their dues; project has since changed hands several times

- Devashri Bhujbal

While lakhs of electricity consumers pay their bills on time, several residents of Siddharth Colony, Chembur, continue to enjoy free power. The colony was being supplied power by Reliance Energy, which was taken over by Adani Electricity in 2018-19. The dues have escalated to around Rs120 crore, including the charges approved by the Maharashtra Electricity Regulatory Commission (MERC) in the tariff schedule.

The colony, comprising around 3,600 homes, has been in dispute with the power supplier for almost 20 years. From sending notices to cutting the power supply and registering FIRs under the Electricity Act, the suppliers have done it all to recover the dues. However, after Adani Electricity took over Reliance Energy in 2018-2019, the latter tried to settle the dispute and the defaulters agreed to pay the running bills. But not all of them kept their promises, as a result of which the dues, which were around Rs75 crore then, have now jumped to Rs120 crore.