The MSEB has already drawn up a list of defaulters. It now plans to publish in the local newspapers the top ten defaulting farmers from each taluka. An MSEB spokesman said the talukawise list of defaulters was almost ready and within the next two days, notices would be issued, individually, to pay up the bills within a week. Those who did not clear their dues would find their power connections disconnected, he said.

There are 1.78 lakh agricultural pumps in the district and the accumulated charges amount to a whopping Rs 52 crore. Some of the bills have been unpaid for the past five to seven years. The MSEB charges a concessional annual tariff of Rs 500 for agricultural pumpshaving capacity below 5 HP; Rs 750 for pumps between 5 HP and 10 HP; and Rs 1,000 for pumps above 10 HP. The bills are issued twice a year, in March and September, to coincide with the Rabi and Kharif harvest, respectively.

This year, Thackeray's announcement came just before the Septmeber bills were issued. The farmers ignored them in the hope that the bills would be waived. Official sources said even those farmers who were paying their bills regularly had joined the horde of defaulters, as the government continued to vacillate over the decision on supplying free electricity to farmers.

The sources said this was the case all over the state. They pointed out that with the cost of generating electricity going up to about Rs 4 crore per megawatt and the overheads on distribution an maintenance mounting, the recovery of bills in rural areas had become a major problem.