In a written reply to the Lok Sabha, Milind Deora, minister of state for communications and IT, said that as of September 30, 2012, landline customers owed Rs 23.97 billion in unpaid bills to Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), say news reports.
Out of the total pending bills, Rs 3.35 billion is owed by customers in the Uttar Pradesh East circle alone. As per Deora, prior to this, the outstanding bills for BSNL stood at Rs 31.94 billion, 28.42 and 24.2 in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12, respectively. Out of this, the operator recovered Rs 89.64 billion, Rs 67 billion and Rs 59.75 billion in 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12, respectively.
As of September, 2012, BSNL has recovered a total of Rs 25.41 billion. The amount recovered by the operator is against the outstanding bills of previous years and also against fresh bills issued every year.
Deora informed the Lok Sabha that the operator is identifying
customers who have defaulted in paying their bills and same is being followed by its pursuit cell in each circle. For further recoveries, the operator is also undertaking litigation against defaulters.
