During his recent visit to West Bengal, Union Minister for Power Manohar Lal called upon varied government department of the State for timely clearing up their pending dues, further seeking they transition to prepaid meters, sources privy to the development informed.

According to them, to alleviate stress on DISCOMs, Mr. Lal also sought a “robust mechanism” be instituted for regular settlement.

Further, whilst reviewing progress on smart metering in the state, Mr. Lal called for expeditious implementation. In fact, sources privy of the development apprised The Hindu that the state government committed to saturate government establishments by June this year and convert them to prepaid by August this year.

The Union Power Minister put forth the potential plan of action in a meeting also attended by the Chief Minister of West Bengal Suvedu Adhikari, along with senior officials from the state government, Union Ministry of Power, Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs and CPSEs of the power sector.