Government agencies and private firms owe the power deparment Rs 350 crore, Nilesh Cabral said.

Several government departments in Goa owe about Rs 145 crore to the state power department, which is reeling under financial crisis due to non-payment of dues by consumers, State Power Minister Nilesh Cabral said on Friday.

After going through the balance sheets of all the sub-divisions, it came to light that a whopping sum of Rs 350 crore was outstanding from consumers, including government agencies and private firms, he added.

"Of this, Rs 120 crore to Rs 145 crore is due from various government departments alone," the minister added.

From November, the power department will start filing RRC (revenue recovery certificate) cases against the defaulters, Mr Cabral said.

"We have already issued notice to several defaulters and the recovery process has started," he added.

Earlier this week, the power department had disconnected the electricity supply of Panaji municipal market for not paying Rs 5 crore pending since 2003.