Minister for Energy, Water Resources and Irrigation Dipak Khadka has said that industrialists should pay electricity dues of trunk lines and dedicated feeders.

Addressing the 66th annual general meeting of the Siddhartha Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Bhairahawa on Friday, Minister Khadka said that the concerned industrialists who consumed electricity through the dedicated and trunk lines should pay the bills.

“The Nepal Electricity Authority should issue the bill of the industrialists for the amount they owe, and the industrialists who have yet to pay the amount according to the bill,” he said.

According to the Minister's secretariat, Minister Khadka said that it is the responsibility of the industrialists to pay the electricity bills, but making the industrialists pay the bills based on false details is an atrocity.

“It is absolutely unacceptable for the government to sit in a responsible government body, submit false details and cause suffering to the people,” he said.

Minister Khadka said that the government wants to work as a partner with the private sector for the development of the country.

He said that the government cannot be strong if the private sector is weak.

He expressed concern about the 22 industries facing the problem of dedicated and trunk line disputes and said that industrialists should pay their bills after calculating the electricity used.

He said that making them pay the bills only on the basis of the distance from the dedicated and trunk line is an injustice, and such injustice will not happen in the future.

Stating that there is a situation to purchase around 1,000 megawatts of electricity in the winter to meet the local demand, Energy Minister Khadka clarified that there are plans to proceed with large projects, focus on electricity security, and increase sources of income by increasing domestic consumption.

He said that the government has set a target of generating 28,500 megawatts of electricity in 10 years and exporting 15,000 megawatts of electricity to neighbouring countries in the Energy Development Roadmap, 2081.

He said that the government is moving forward with the work accordingly.

Minister Khadka asked the private sector to invest in hydropower to materialise the Energy Development Roadmap and make the country prosperous through the development of hydropower.

He urged people not to gather crowds for cheap popularity and push themselves and the country towards ruin.

He said that the government's primary goal is to strengthen the economy, maintain good governance, and achieve prosperity by partnering with the private sector, and the present government is working with that goal.