Belagavi, 6 Sept

The Hubballi Electricity Supplying Company (HESCOM) issued a notice to the Public Works Department (PWD), threatening to disconnect power supply to Suvarna Vidhana Soudha if its electricity bills were not paid by the end of the month.

SS Sorabad, Executive Engineer, PWD Belagavi, told Salar News that HESCOM has threatened to cut the electricity to the Soudha starting 1 October. Sorabad said that the dues were pending for six months, amounting to a total of Rs 1.2 lakh.

Official sources, requesting anonymity, said that the PWD has not released a maintenance grant for a year.

The PWD is responsible for the mega administrative structure in North Karnataka.

Notably, the 10-day legislative session in December was nearly Rs 20 lakh. However, this bill has been paid.  

Sources added that the finance department rejected the department’s proposal to sanction the campus and the Soudha Maintenance fund of Rs 9 crore. The proposal included Rs 2 crore annually to maintain an 18-acre garden.

PWD Minister Satish Jarkiholi, who is from Belagavi district, was not available to comment on the HESCOM notice.