In UP, they are ‘power guzzlers’ and sit on a staggering Rs 363 crore in electricity dues. Lucknow: If you thought there is nothing extravagant about rural public toilets, think again.
The mounting arrears are part of a larger financial burden involving five categories of rural public institutions, whose combined outstanding electricity dues rose by Rs 347 crore — from Rs 4,658 crore in July to Rs 5,005 crore by Sept.
UP has reported 62,454 community sanitary complexes, including 59,190 completed facilities and 56,606 functionally verified ones, according to Union govt’s Swachh Bharat Mission (Grameen) dashboard. Rural streetlights follow with outstanding dues of Rs 1,828 crore, up Rs 124 crore from July. Gram panchayat and community buildings owe Rs 547 crore, compared with Rs 508 crore earlier, while anganwadi centres owe Rs 374 crore, up from Rs 345 crore in July.
However, the number of electricity connections associated with these facilities remains unclear.
A UPPCL official source said, “The matter was discussed during an Aug 24 meeting chaired by the state chief secretary. 2018, as the starting date for school arrears, no corresponding date is mentioned for community toilets or other facilities While the meeting records specify April 1. Notably, 52.41 lakh consumers had stopped paying electricity bills, leaving dues of Rs 35,817 crore. Another 41 lakh consumers have never paid their electricity bills, with outstanding dues of Rs 27,540 crore. These figures relate to consumers identified as defaulters on April 1, 2026.
It was recommended that a separate budget head be created under the Panchayati Raj department, through the finance department, to facilitate the centralised settlement of outstanding and future electricity bills. A verification mechanism was also proposed, requiring school principals to authenticate their institutions’ electricity bills and village pradhans to verify bills relating to gram panchayat facilities before payment.