The Hindu : Power situation may turn the tables on Congress

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Tuesday, Feb 11, 2003

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Other States - New Delhi

Power situation may turn the tables on Congress

By Sujay Mehdudia

NEW DELHI FEB. 10. The power reforms unleashed by the Delhi Government might have been well-intentioned and for the better. But unfortunately with the passage of time, the public perception seems to be changing for the worse. The constant hide-and-seek power game with lakhs of consumers is fast turning into a major issue and could well upset the applecart of the Congress-led Government.

When the Sheila Dikshit Government went in for power reforms, including privatisation of the distribution network, it was welcomed widely with the hope that things would change for the better. In fact, it is widely felt that for all their efforts the private power companies have not been able to bring about the desired change in work culture and mind-set of the inefficient and corrupt erstwhile DVB staff. No doubt the distribution of power is the prime responsibility of the private companies, but being a 49 per cent stake holder and also as the Government of the day, the Congress government has virtually given up on this front. "Power and related problems no longer seem to affect the Congress Government. They have thrown up their hands and left the people at the mercy of the private companies who have developed a very arrogant attitude. If this is the kind of privatisation that was sought to be unleashed, then certainly there are reasons to question it,'' another party MLA added.

Though the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, along with the Power Minister, Ajay Maken, has been trying her best to rope in the private companies, their best has not been enough. Political observers feel that it is the bureaucracy which is running the show and having the upper hand in all matters relating to power reforms rather than the political leadership. Beginning from the Power Department and its head right up to the Power Minister, it is the officials who are ruling the roost. In fact, senior bureaucrats in the Delhi Government spare no effort to stand up to the defence of the private companies and their heads. Despite the improvement in the weather conditions and decrease in demand for power, the situation remains virtually the same. Power cuts and unannounced load shedding continue unabated without any respite but that has failed to wake the political leadership.

``The situation on the power front is very bad. The private companies, despite getting huge soft loans and funds, are not making the required investment in infrastructure. There has been no relief for the consumers and adding to their woes is the ill-equipped and unresponsive complaint redressal system. Instead of time and again rushing to the press to defend the private companies, the political leadership needs to be more firm and ensure accountability at all levels otherwise it will become a major election issue,'' a senior Minister remarked.

No doubt that Mr. Maken has been right in stating that if the Sheila Dikshit Government finds the going difficult in election due to power being a major issue, it would prove to be a big deterrent for other States to undertake power reforms. But the ground realities are really disturbing and nothing seems to be changing for the better. All the opinion polls have made it very clear that power and water are going to be big election issue and possibly hit the Congress badly.

``The public awareness campaign to apprise people about shortage of power and making efficient use is being done by the Delhi Government owned Transco. This should have been done by the private companies but Transco has not been able to persuade them to launch an ad blitz which costs money. Even after privatisation, public money is being flouted for doing a job which is the prime responsibility of the private companies,'' a senior leader stated.

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