Why, may we ask, has such an amount been allowed to accrete in the first place? It was not a matter of months but years that both the users on one hand and the service provider on the other, have remained inert that such a huge amount remains unpaid for long.

When it comes to the government agencies not paying their dues timely, it not only is a question of default culture it is also very much an issue of lax financial discipline. After all, the government ministries and their under command agencies have money provided for expenditures under these heads in their yearly budget. There is no reason why gas bills should go unrealised for months together, unless money provided for to defray expenditures under these heads are appropriated for spending on some other heads. This speaks of an abject apathy towards proper management of finances as well as a total absence of accountability.

Needless to say, such failure to pay has a knock-on effect on the economy that we must not allow to happen.

It is not enough to urge the defaulters to pay up only. Some serious action against them is called for so that this is not repeated. It is also not enough to have these amounts deducted ab initio from the respective budget allocation, as some high ups have suggested. That may allow realisation of some part of the bills, it will, on the other hand, lead to tremendous misuse of gas.

The default culture should be purged from the psyche of our bureaucrats. Making people more accountable is one way of doing it.