Attempting to kick-start his nascent political career, Lokpal activist and former Team Anna member Arvind Kejriwal has adopted the issue that causes the most heartburn to Delhi’s citizenry – the steep power tariff hikes and dodgy billing of the past few months. On Sept. 23, a few thousand Kejriwal supporters collected at Jantar Mantar, burnt electricity bills (something no political party has done in the decade-plus of privatisation), and charged the Congress of conspiracy to help private firms make more money. It remains to be seen if this will help him make a dent in the Delhi Assembly elections of 2013.
Inspired by a citizens’ group led by actor Roshan Seth and others who campaigned for non-payment of hiked bills some years ago (which political parties failed to support), Kejriwal is planning to launch a movement urging citizens not to pay their bills until the government rolls back the tariff hike.
Unlike established political parties which have not done any homework, Kejriwal presented a discom employee (identity secret) who claimed: “I have had to fake reports of faulty meters and I have seen how bills are inflated”. An investigating agency could easily establish the veracity of these allegations. Also, citizens have a right to know why public property worth Rs 2,000 crore was handed over to the discoms free (rental Rs 1).
Certainly, there is a case for a CAG audit of the private discoms, and no justice in hiking tariffs without auditing the firms, especially after a previous DERC chief found the demands untenable and even favoured tariff reduction. The flip side of this is that a former DERC chairman who had favoured the discoms was offered a senior position in a private power firm soon after retirement. This naked alliance between bureaucracy and corporates, galloping under liberalization, needs reining in.
It may be recalled that in November 2009, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, deeply committed to the welfare of private firms, had said electricity bills will rise 100 per cent every three years! This was her declared intent, for which she worked assiduously. In 2009, she stood by the private firms and their scandalously inflated bills and DERC docilely permitted a 30% tariff hike. A similar hike took place six months ago and another 26% was initiated from July. This is perilously close to her target of 100% hike in three years – a promise fulfilled.
Since then, citizens have been subjected to open thuggery. Recently, power companies began dispatching casual workers with photocopies of unpaid bills to collect payment – a grim reminder of the days when credit card companies would physically engage with clients to collect payments or seize cars purchased on loans.
If Kejriwal and his colleagues are serious about the power scandal, they must begin with a serious investigation of how the courts cleared the electronic metres for installation. And who authorized the power companies to change the electronic metres a second time without any explanation or warning to the public; daily wagers were sent to colonies to rip out existing metres and citizens forced to sign acceptance of new metres, which naturally led to an algebraic rise in bills.
Despite unwavering political support, in June 2012, power companies failed to pay their dues to the state-run NHPC which withheld supply of 200 MW to a firm for failure to pay outstanding dues of Rs. 225 crore. Two other power generation companies asked the firm to pay over Rs. 1600 crores in unsettled bills.
But DERC held that in December 2011 the companies had a net cash surplus (BRPL Rs.158.40 crore; BYPL Rs.164.72 crore). It directed them to pay their dues to the power generation and transmission agencies to maintain power supply.
In January 2012, DERC found discrepancies in the audit reports submitted by firms and on Jan. 25 ticked them off for exaggerating their liquidity crisis. DERC said the revenue gaps were on account of inefficient collection. It also refused to accept the accounts submitted by BSES Rajdhani and BSES Yamuna for the period April to December 2011 and found unexplained discrepancies in the information submitted regarding power purchase.
Citizens must know why power distribution was privatized and what, if any, gain this has brought to the common man. There should also be a public interest litigation asking why those at the commanding heights of the polity – Ministers, MPs, babus, perhaps even judges – get free electricity. Matters cannot improve until each household pays the same amount for the same consumption. For a government that is imposing privatisation on the citizenry, what justification is there for such a freebie?
http://www.niticentral.com/2012/09/who-will-answer-for-delhis-electricity-crisis.html