http://oheraldo.in/node/9542
Khot owes electricity department Rs 3 lakh BY FREDDY REBELLO POINGUINIM, FEB 7 - If you are a small-time defaulter, be prepared to be penalised. But turn into an MLA and 'miss' electricity payments amounting to a staggering Rs 3 lakh over a period of nine years and you could still continue using power without any penalty. This seems to be the situation at Canacona, where power department is reluctant to disconnect the power line of Canacona MLA Vijay Pai Khot, even though he has admitted to Herald that he owes them money. Investigations by Herald have revealed that Dhinraj Metals and Anant Metals, located at Poinguinim, drew power in the name of Vijay Pai Khot and owed a sum of Rs 2,35,135. Those are the pending dues but the Electricity Department is silent on the past dues that Mr Khot owes the government. In 1997, the power connection to two units standing in the name of Vijay Pai Khot were disconnected permanently. One was pertaining to Anant Metals that owed the government Rs 39,000 while the other one located at Tamnemol, Cotigao has defaulted to the tune of Rs 27,000. The Electricity Department is yet to recover the amount, but Khot allegedly managed to get a new connection. The law states that a defaulter cannot get reconnection under his own name until he clears the dues. Questions are being raised as to how Khot managed to get a fresh connection and were notices sent to him? and were any procedures initiated for recovery? When contacted, Khot admitted that he owed money to the dept. "However, I am not a defaulter as the payment of dues is an ongoing process," insisted Mr Khot. When asked to justify the non-payment of dues for the past nine years, Mr Khot claimed that the matter is in the litigation. -- Salaam ali kum. Gabe Menezes. London, England
