The Sathya Sai Trust found itself in a tight spot on Friday when the Andhra Pradesh Central Power Distribution Company Limited (APCPDCL) served it a notice, demanding that the Trust immediately clear the pending monthly arrears of the Superspeciality Hospital in Puttaparthi, amounting to Rs. 3.3 crore, or face disconnection.
In view of the humanitarian service rendered at the hospital, the government had, in 2002, offered to subsidise its power supply. While the APCPDCL, which has jurisdiction over seven districts, including Anantapur, collected a tariff of Rs.4.30 per unit of consumption, the government contributed Rs. 4 per unit towards its monthly bill, leaving only a slight burden of 30 paise on the Trust.
According to D.V. Ramanamurthy, superintending engineer, Anantapur, APCPDCL, while the government had periodically released the subsidy to the APCPDCL's head-office here, it stopped doing so a year ago. As a result, the arrears payable by the Trust accumulated, reaching a whopping sum. The hospital's monthly power bill worked out Rs.18 lakh on an average.
The Trust was served notice, Mr. Ramamurthy said, since the APCPDL was facing a financial crunch for purchasing power at a high cost.
Officials would wait for a few days to receive the arrears before disconnecting supply.
