Jaipur, Jul 15 (PTI) Rajasthan Energy Minister Heeralal Nagar owes the government over Rs 2 lakh in unpaid electricity bills, Nagaur Lok Sabha MP Hanuman Beniwal alleged on Tuesday after power supply to his home and party office was cut over non-payment of dues.
He levelled serious accusations of corruption against Nagar, alleging that the smart meter installation contracts were rife with kickbacks that reached the minister and others.
The minister, however, refuted the allegation, explaining that the due date for the payment of the electric bill is July 17.
About the installation of smart meters, Nagar said the tenders were issued by the Congress government, but it was the BJP dispensation that took it forward and issued the final order.
Targeting Nagar, the Rashtriya Loktantrik Party (RLP) leader shared with reporters documents, which he claimed were proof of an unpaid bill to the tune of Rs 2.17 lakh for the minister’s Hospital Road government residence, and asked whether that electricity connection would also be disconnected.
“The government sent notices to me about my allotted government house, and cut power to my MP office in Nagaur. Will you now cut the energy minister’s connection?” Beniwal asked Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma.
He further claimed that while unpaid bills for Nagar’s Jyoti Nagar flats were settled from government accounts, an attempt to pay the Hospital Road bungalow bill from the state treasury was rejected. “The treasury said the government pays only one bill for a minister,” Beniwal claimed.
Reacting to Beniwal’s allegations, Nagar said, “What can I do about it? His bill was pending for a long time. I read somewhere that he claimed that his bill was in settlement. It is not true. Settlement is for the cases where there is an unusually high bill for some reason or if the meter is faulty.” “I don’t have any pending bills. My normal bill’s due date is July 17. When the due date has not arrived yet, what exactly is he accusing me of?” the minister posed.
Replying to the opposition’s allegations on smart meter installation, Nagar said, “The previous Congress government had installed 5.30 lakh smart meters during their time. They started the scheme. Even the tender for the additional 1.50 crore smart metres installation was issued by them.
“Those tenders did not mature then. We went ahead, finalised them and gave the order. All the conditions are exactly the same as those set by the Congress government. We just took the work forward.” Beniwal also targeted Khivsar MLA Rewant Ram Danga, displaying what he claimed were overdue bills in Danga’s name and alleging that electricity connections were granted in violation of disconnection rules.
He further accused Danga of being part of irregularities in the Prime Minister’s Fasal Bima Yojana and involvement in illegal mining.
Turning to the sub-inspector recruitment controversy, Beniwal accused the BJP-led state government of “double standards” and claimed the judiciary had called the administration “paralysed” over its contradictory stand in court.
He also alleged that the Nagaur superintendent of police and former MP Jyoti Mirdha were complicit in illegal sand mining in the region. PTI AG NSD NSD
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