The Hindu : Karnataka News : Phones of ZP offices cut for non-payment of bills

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, May 28, 2004

Karnataka

Karnataka

Phones of ZP offices cut for non-payment of bills

By Our Staff Correspondent

MADIKERI, MAY 27. "The number you have dialled is presently out of order." This is what one hears when the telephone numbers of several offices coming under the Kodagu Zilla Panchayat are dialled. This is so even with the telephones of the zilla panchayat president, its vice-president, the executive engineer of the zilla panchayat, Madikeri, and the executive officer of the Somwarpet Taluk Panchayat.

Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd. has disconnected the phones owing to non-payment of bills by the ZP offices. Even a month after the telephones were disconnected, the bills have not been cleared. Sources in the zilla panchayat pointed out that only telephone bills that had to be paid before March 15 had been cleared.

Some more bills have to be paid by the end of this month and, in the event of these not being cleared, the telephones of several other departments of the zilla panchayat are likely to be disconnected.

A clear picture on the number of telephone lines disconnected and the amount due to BSNL could not be obtained as BSNL officials preferred not to speak on the issue.

"Disconnections do take place and the Accounts Department of BSNL informs us only about the telephone numbers that are to be disconnected and not the names of individuals or offices," sources in BSNL said.

The Treasury Officer, A.S. Anantram, when asked for the reasons for the delay in payments, clarified that his department had no role in the episode. The State Government introduced "budget control" from April 1 and brought in procedural changes to financial transactions. Accordingly, every head of the department in Bangalore would feed into the computer the district-wise allocations at the Network Management Centre (NMC). Later, the details were downloaded at the district centres. Only after that arrangements could be made for making payments in accordance with the rules, Mr. Anantram said.

Some departments had got the allocation and others had not. This was because of teething troubles in the new system. It would take some time before everyone became used to the new system. Mr. Anantram said owing to "diversion" of funds meant for clearing telephone bills by some departments, problems could have cropped up.

The grants for the previous year were frozen in March and only new grants could be used for making payments, he clarified.

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