Bhubaneswar, 3 December (H.S.) : Odisha’s unpaid electricity dues have surged to nearly ₹7,000 crore, with domestic consumers emerging as the largest defaulters, Deputy Chief Minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo informed the State Assembly on Wednesday.

Responding to a question from Congress MLA Ram Chandra Kadam, the Deputy CM stated in a written reply that the state’s total outstanding electricity bills stand at ₹6,956.93 crore. Of this, general household consumers owe ₹6,558 crore, representing more than 94% of the total arrears.

Industrial and commercial consumers together owe ₹398.93 crore, forming a comparatively smaller but still significant portion of the dues.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Monalisa Panda