A couple of months before elections to municipal corporations are held, the Madhya Pradesh government has announced that it is seriously considering banning electricity bill defaulters from contesting. The recommendation was accepted at Manthan 2009, a brainstorming session attended by ministers, including the Chief Minister, and about 200 bureaucrats, including principal secretaries, heads of departments, divisional commissioners, in the state capital. The government could also consider banning property tax defaulters from contesting these elections.

The meet while promising “zero tolerance for power theft” felt that the proposed ban could carry weight only if government agencies clear their own electricity dues.

Special working groups constituted by the state government, in keeping with its priorities that include infrastructure development, increase in investment, making agriculture profitable, education and health, made their presentations at the meet.

Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said the next budget would be based on recommendations made by the groups and the conclusions drawn from the exercise. He said the government had done a commendable job in constructing roads and would focus on roads in rural areas. He said his government had set a target of supplying adequate electricity and connecting all villages by a network of roads by 2013.

The meet could not conclude on Tuesday due to the death of BJP leader Pyarelal Khandelwal. It will resume on October 14.