Sonia Gandhi, Union Ministers in NDMC defaulters list

New Delhi, Mar 18: Congress President Sonia Gandhi, former Prime Ministers Manmohan Singh and H D Devegowda, Union Ministers Smriti Irani, Najma Heptullah and Ram Vilas Paswan are among over 300 MPS who are on the utility bill defaulters list of the New Delhi Municipal Council.

Others who figure in the list of electricity and water bill defaulters, which has been made public by NDMC, are former Union Minister Jainarain Prasad Nishad, L K Advani, Digvijay Singh and Jagdish Tytler. In the list of dues pending upto December 2014 billing cycle, 166 MPs from Lok Sabha and 151 MPs of Rajya Sabha have figured. Nishad, Devegowda and Telangana CM K Chandrashekhra Rao top the list with their outstanding bills running into lakhs.

While Nishad owes the NDMC Rs 18.47 lakh, Devegowda and Rao owes Rs 1.49 and 1.27 lakh respectively. While former Prime Minister Singh owes Rs 22,934, the dues of Gandhi and Jairam Ramesh are as low as Rs 193.68 and Rs 206. Digvijay Singh is yet to pay Rs 25,484, Jagdambika Pal-Rs 30,953, Paswan-Rs 49,464, Shashi Tharoor-Rs 7,374 and Advani Rs 3311.

Union Ministers Irani and Heptullah have dues of Rs 12,934 and Rs 1,627 pending against them. Amar Singh, Moti Lal Vora, Rajpal Singh Saini, Palvai Govardhan Reddy and Birender Singh owe Rs 1.47 lakh, 1.31 lakh, Rs 76,934 and Rs 68,134 to the civic body respectively. "NDMC has written to CPWD and Housing Committees to clear the dues of Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha MPs.

The utility bills of any person holding a constitutional post is paid by CPWD while the electricity and water bills for MPS' residences are deducted from their salaries," a senior NDMC official said. "We have sent notices earlier too reminding of the dues," he added. The official, however, did not comment on whether the civic body is mulling any action like discontinuing the power or water supply against the defaulters if the dues are not paid. The civic body has also released a separate list of 859 former Lok Sabha MPs who are yet to clear their dues. Topping the list is Congress leader Tytler with dues of Rs 16.97 lakh pending followed by BG Jalwali, Shiv Pratap Mishra and Hazi Ghulam Mohammad Khan with unpaid bills of Rs 7.67 lakh, Rs 6.27 lakh and Rs 5.40 lakh respectively.

NDMC areas are home to the high and mighty of the city. While it has bungalows of Union Ministers and parliamentarians, many top industrialists also stay in the area. Parliament House, buildings of all the ministries, Supreme Court, high court and residences of Supreme Court judges, senior bureaucrats and senior military officers are in NDMC areas.

PTI