CM upset over power supply

By Our Staff Reporter

NEW DELHI, AUG. 23.

Worried over the deteriorating power situation in the Capital, the Chief Minister, Ms. Sheila Dikshit, is understood to have directed the Delhi Vidyut Board to pull up its socks and come up with a better performance. She is understood to have conveyed her reservations to the Power Minister, Dr. Narendra Nath, and the DVB Chairman, Mr. Jagdish Sagar.

Flooded with complaints about the failure of the DVB to respond to complaints in a time-bound manner, she is believed to be annoyed with the manner in which matters were being dealt with at the highest level. What seems to have worked her up that the entire summer and half of the monsoon season had passed without any major problem, but suddenly things seem to have gone wrong.

Ms. Dikshit had summoned all senior DVB officials along with the Power Minister for a meeting at the Players Building on Wednesday. She reportedly gave a piece of her mind and directed them set things right or face the music. Dr. Narendra Nath and Mr. Jagdish Sagar had come under fire from a number of MLAs for having failed to act on their complaints. In fact, the worsening situation had resulted in riots in people comming out on the streets in East Delhi to protest. There is little doubt that the complaint redressal system has virtually collapsed and the DVB staff has failed to respond.

Ms. Dikshit, who had not been attending office due to ill-health, was only apprised by the MLAs and partymen about the situation on the power front. The officials were painting a rosy picture and not giving the true facts. It is good to have an honest person at the helm but what is the use if he not effective, a senior Minister remarked. In fact, MLAs have time and again lodged a strong protest against the continued ``indifferent'' attitude of Mr. Sagar and his failure to respond to their grievances. ``The Chief Minister should realise that the stakes are high in the MCD polls. We cannot afford to have officials occupying high positions if they fail to deliver. It is the elected representatives who have to fight elections and not the bureaucrats'', a senior MLA remarked.

Ms. Dikshit asked the DVB officials to make the complaint redressal centres more pro-active and responsive to do away with the criticism that nobody attends to the complaints. At the same time, it was stressed that the financial powers of the Chief Engineers and the Executive Engineers should also be enhanced to decentralise decision making so that they need not rush to the superiors for acquisition of raw material in certain emergent situations. She said all those officials who fail to respond to the complaints should be dealt with firmly.

Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Section  : Other States
Previous : Narmada team take protest to President