Hike
in electricity charges
Sir,
The State Government has recently announced to
increase the electricity fee in order to bring
down the gap between the procurement and supply
rates. The rates are to be revised for three
years. Whether an average consumer would be able
to pay the fee at the revised ratesd does not
seem to have been taken into consideration by the
Government.The
argument advanced in support of its decision is
that the other States charge much higher rates
than what is charged by the State Government. The
States with whom our State has been compared have
their own resources with sound industrial base
and availability of raw material. These States do
not depend entirely on the Grants of the Central
Government.
The above argument
does not seem to be sound. Our State has
negligible resources. There is hardly any
industrial base. The per capita income is less
than the per capita income of other States.
Majority of our people live in villages whose
source of income is Agriculture. The maximum area
under cultivation remains covered with snow for
about six months. In other States two to three
crops are produced in a year. Whereas in our
State particularly in ladakh and the valley not
more than one crop is produced. The income from
fruit orchards is also not so good owing to
frequent scabe be and other diseases.
The artisans of
the State are incurring heavy losses because of
decreased number of tourists which used to be
their main source of income. It is only the
exporters or the Commission Agents who still make
money and have shifted their business outside the
State. The other group comprises large business
houses and contractors. Their total number is
not, however, large.
The remaining
portion of population comprise Govt employees
shopkeepers small entrepreneurs and the labour
class who have fixed income and have to bear the
brunt of high cost of living because of soaring
prices. In view of tough competition and very
little support from Govt the icome generating
units established under small sector are
underutilized or stand closed during the last few
years.
Whom do the
Government considers fit to pay the electric
charges at enhanced rates out of the aforesaid
categories of our population.
If the rates are
revised, it is doubtful whether the Government
would be able to collect the estimated amount of
revenue in view of its failure to collect the
revenue from all the consumers at the existing
rates.
Instead of raising
the rates, would not it be expedient to plug the
loop holes existing in the system and recover the
charges for the electricity consumed from one and
all without fear and favour. Unless it is done,
the Government cannot increase the revenue by
simply revising the rates or for that matter
bring down the difference between the procurement
and the supply rates. The first and foremost
thing to be done is to divert full attention
towards the leakages and the transmission lossess
which are the two big reasons for shortfall in
revenue generated from power supplied to the
consumers.
Yours etc..............
B.L. Kachroo
Talab Tiloo (Jammu)
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