HYDERABAD: The Telangana High Court on Tuesday directed the Union government not to take any coercive steps against the state or its power utility companies over a due of ₹ 6,757 crore reportedly to be paid to Andhra Pradesh.
Against the backdrop of statements made by the Union minister for energy and power in Parliament on August 1 — that consultations were made with law and finance departments to direct the RBI to deduct the amount from the accounts of the Telangana government, in a reply to AP Rajya Sabha members Vijaysai Reddy and G.V.L. Narsimha Rao — the Telangana government on Tuesday moved the High Court.
The state government requested the High Court to extend the stay order given earlier and restrain the Union government from taking coercive action.
The division bench of Chief Justice Alok Aradhe and Justice T. Vinod Kumar issued directions to the Union government, stating that it would hear the matter of claims made by AP power utilities and TS power utilities on August 24. The court said that the dispute may also be settled on the day of the hearing.
The case pertains to the Union government directing Telangana power utilities to pay ₹3,441.78 crore principal and ₹3,315.14 crore interest for late payment to its AP counterpart for power supplied from June 2, 2014, to June 10, 2017, as per the AP Reorganization Act.
Telangana power utilities, however, maintain that AP discoms owed ₹ 20,000 crores under various heads and that the same should be cleared first before seeking payment for power.
