Hours after former cabinet minister Navjot Singh Sidhu took a dig at the Amarinder Singh government over the Punjab power crisis, the government hit back as it exposed defaults on the cricketer-turned-politician power dues.
Officials of the government-run Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) claimed that the former minister was owed an electricity bill of around Rs 8.70 lakh for his house in Amritsar for the past several months.
“The amount pending is over a period of eight months. Sidhu owes PSPCL Rs 17,62,742. But after we started the recovery drive, they had paid an amount of around Rs 10 lakh in March. He later kept the remaining amount pending, objecting to the surcharge amount. His case is being reviewed,” said an official.
Sources said Sidhu now owes PSPCL 8,68,499. Officials said Sidhu had applied for one-time settlement of the bill by objecting to the surcharge.
Earlier today, in a series of tweets, Sidhu took a dig at the state government’s decision to cut office hours in view of the power crisis. Seeking re-look at the agreements with private thermal plants in the state, he had suggested ways to ensure that the state can come out of the difficult power situation.
Incidentally, when Sidhu was dropped from the local bodies department, Amarinder Singh offered him the charge of the power ministry, which the former declined and left the cabinet in 2019.
Despite repeated attempts, Sidhu could not be contacted for his response.
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