Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu among 4 states to join UDAY soon

New Delhi, July 29: Four states, including Madhya Pradesh, Telangana and Tamil Nadu, may soon join the Centre's UDAY scheme meant for revival of debt-stressed power distribution companies.

"Power Ministry talks with Madhya Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry on UDAY scheme are at advance stages. These states are likely to join the scheme very soon," a source said.

Madhya Pradesh can formally ink the agreement in a few weeks, the source said.

Madhya Pradesh discoms have an accumulated debt of Rs 35,000 crore. The state is estimated to get benefit to the extent of Rs 11,500 crore during next three years of the turnaround. Following the reforms, it could go up to Rs 14,500 crore annually.

In the case of Tamil Nadu, the source said the total debt is Rs 67,000 crore, including around Rs 46,000 crore in the distribution segment. It is estimated that during three years of the turnaround, the state will get cumulative benefit of Rs 18,600 crore. After three years, the annual benefits are estimated at Rs 22,420 crore.

Power Minister Piyush Goyal has recently met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in an effort to get the state on board on UDAY.

Similarly, Telangana discoms' debt stands at around Rs 6,700 crore. For the three years of reforms, the cumulative benefit is estimated at Rs 6,000 crore, following which the state will see it go up to Rs 6,100 crore annually.

Puducherry has a debt load of Rs 423 crore and will get benefits of Rs 440 crore annually after implementation of UDAY scheme in three years.

Earlier this week on Tuesday, Manipur became the 14th state to join the UDAY scheme, for which the gains translate into around Rs 263 crore. It is also the first North Eastern state to opt for UDAY for improving efficiency of its discoms.

The UDAY scheme was launched by the Centre in November last year to revive debt-laden power distribution companies.

PTI