Kolkata: Plans to transfer accumulated losses of electricity boards to the balance sheets of the state governments is now awaiting the approval of the Cabinet, Union power minister Suresh Prabhu said.

In an interactive session organised by Indian Chamber of Commerce on February 14, Prabhu said that power ministry would place this proposal for approval at the next Cabinet meeting to be convened by the Prime Minister.

On the lines of Montek Singh Ahluwalia committee report, the power ministry was of the view that accumulated dues of Rs 41,000 crore of all the state electricity boards (SEBs) were to be transferred to the balance sheets of the state governments.

Prabhu said that this step was taken to make the SEBs viable and enable them to start afresh with a clean slate.

The minister said that power ministry was also planning to change income recognition norms of the state electricity boards by adopting new accounting standards of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.

The ministry had also constituted a committee under the chairmanship of HDFC chairman Deepak Parekh which would look into the problems of individual SEBs and ways to come out of their past liabilities.

PTI