80-year-old Ganpat Naik, who runs a rice mill in Nirmal village of Nalasopara town, Maharahstra on Monday received a whopping electricity bill of over Rs 80 crore apparently due to fault in the server of the electricity department's computer. The bill was later rectified and Naik was asked to pay the actual bill of Rs 6,400.
"I received the electricity bill of Rs 80 crore for my rice mill. Naik's grandson, Niraj, said they were working when they got the electricity bill and were "shocked" to see it.
Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) said that the error has been rectified. MSEDCL said the mistake happened either due to clerical error.
Ganpat Naik, who is a heart patient, his blood pressure rose seeing the bill. Later, he had to be taken to a hospital for medical check-up.
The agency had made a bill of nine digits instead of six digits. While we were rerunning the bill and making corrections, the agency went on and issued the bill to Naik. We have studied their electricity meter and given them a fresh bill of six digits. They are satisfied now," said Surendra Monere, an electricity board official.