Chandigarh, Mar 15 (IANS): The Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), a state-government power utility agency, has recovered arrears of Rs.59 crore in just 10 days from 7,300 defaulting consumers in its area in south Haryana.

The recovery has been made under a special campaign during the last 10 days, DHBVN officials said Sunday.

The DHBVN is targeting to recover another Rs.35 crore in the next one week from power bill defaulters and those indulging in power thefts.

The agency has already directed officials to get cases (first information report - FIRs) registered against those found stealing electricity.

Out of the Rs.59 crore recovered in the last 10 days, Rs.52.67 crore has been coughed up by the state's irrigation department alone.

A DHBVN spokesman said that since December 2009, when a campaign was launched to check power thefts and recover arrears, a total of Rs.130 crore have been recovered dues from nearly 100,000 consumers.

The DHBVN has constituted 142 teams for the drive and detected 775 cases of power theft during the last 10 days and imposed penalties amounting to Rs.1.20 crore on erring consumers.

Eighty teams are dedicated to checking power theft cases and are conducting 800 raids on a daily basis in south Haryana areas.

So far, 5,523 complaints have been made to the police at various places for power thefts and 530 cases have also been registered.