Stern measures to prevent power thefts

By Our Staff Reporter

BANGALORE, JAN. 12. Karnataka will soon have an extra-vigilant and special legislation to prevent power thefts, if the Government approves.

According to Mr. V.B. Baligar, Chairman and Managing Director of the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Limited (KPTCL), the law will ensure that power thieves are heavily penalised. ``In Andhra Pradesh, there is a provision for cutting off power supply for at least two years,'' he said.

He was presiding over the inauguration of the KPTCL Pension and Gratuity Fund here on Friday.

Mr. Baligar said the idea for the legislation had arisen out of a Tamil Nadu-Andhra Pradesh tour undertaken by a few KPTCL employees. ``In Andhra Pradesh, there is even a special tribunal to try these cases. And moreover, the KERC (Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission) has asked us to reduce our commercial losses, including thefts, illegal connections and so on from the present 10 per cent,'' he said.

Mr. Baligar said the legislation was at present being drafted and would soon be sent to the Government for approval and, later, enactment. He said the corporation proposed to enlist ex- servicemen into its recently-launched anti-corruption task force, ``Pulikeshi Pade''. ``We will give them uniforms to carry out their services,'' he said.

This move would help the KPTCL in overcoming staff shortage. Although the force was supposed to comprise KPTCL engineers and officers from its Vigilance Wing, Mr. Baligar admitted candidly that the corporation was short of both. ``We hope that the ex- Army men, who have served the country splendidly, will do justice to this task too,'' he said.

Pension fund

The KPTCL inaugurated its first Employees' Pension and Gratuity Fund. As per statistics available with the corporation, pension for the KPTCL's 15,021 pensioners and 40,733 employees worked out to Rs. 1,870 crores. Gratuity for the employees amounted to Rs. 278 crores.

As a token gesture, the KPTCL Pensioners' Association President, Mr. Byrappa handed over a Rs. five-crore cheque (generated out of KPTCL resources) - Rs. four crores towards pension and Rs. one crore to the Gratuity Fund - to the Trust President and KPTCL Director (Finance), Mr. Ravi Kumar.

According to the KPTCL, the formation of the fund is part of its financial restructuring under reforms in the power sector. This means that the financial restructuring plan has to include ``conversion of unfunded liability into funded liability.''

Mr. Baligar said the corporation had consulted experts to determine the exact unfunded liability and had created the fund after taking the employee data as on August 1, 1999.

At present, the two funds had common trustees. ``The State Government is required to pay for this fund amount,'' Mr. Baligar said. He hoped that creating the fund would reassure the employees that notwithstanding privatisation, the corporation would safeguard their future. As they were the primary stake holders, he expected their ``active participation'' in the reform process.

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