Nepal's former royal family seeks waiver for back electricity bills

Nov 14, 2008, 3:28 GMT

   Kathmandu - Nepal's former royal family has sought a waiver to avoid millions of rupees in unpaid electricity bills following threats to cut off their power supply, officials said Friday.

   Utility officials said former king Gyanendra's daughter, nieces and nephews wrote to the government seeking the waiver for unpaid bills up to May when the country abolished monarchy and declared itself a republic.

   'We have received request for a waiver from former royal family members,' said Arjun Kumar Karki, executive director of the Nepal Electricity Authority. 'The request letter asks the electricity authorities to seek the payment from the government for a three-year period until the end of May.'

   Karki also added that the former royal family pledged to follow whatever decision the government might take.

   In October, the Nepal Electricity Authority warned the former king and the royal family to pay their unpaid bills within 15 days or face cuts in electricity supply.

   'The former royal family owes the electricity authority 77.7 million rupees (983,000 dollars) over the past three years,' Karki said. 'The fine alone is worth 12.5 million rupees.'

   Officials said the electricity provider took the decision to cut electricity supply to homes of former royals as a last resort to collect on unpaid bills.

   Unpaid bills include those incurred by former king Gyanendra from several palaces including the main Narayanhiti Palace in Kathmandu.

   All the palaces and residences were nationalized by the government earlier this year.

   Gyanendra now lives in a government-provided residence in the outskirts of Kathmandu after moving of Narayanhiti palace.

   Royal family members reportedly stopped paying electricity bills after Gyanendra grabbed absolute power in February 2005.

   He was, however, forced to give up power a year later following mass protests in Nepal.

   After a vote in the constituent assembly which ended monarchy in Nepal, Gyanendra has been reduced to a commoner and will have to pay taxes as an ordinary citizen.