Sir,
Apropos “Reality of Power Drive” IFP editorial Feb 14, 20111 would like to add a little which come to my knowledge.
The accounted loss of 80% of the power in Manipur to transmission and thievery as stated by the Chief Engineer Power is a bold revelation. We have some knowledge of these losses but not to this extent. This loss must have been continuing for the last 3-4 decades. To make up this loss of power and tax thereon by the meagre 20% genuine consumer would be too much for the asking.
It is questionable if the Chief Engineer Power has full account of these losses. As far as power thievery is concerned the culprits are in the knowledge of the field staffs of the Power Department. The field staffs collect money from these culprits for the illicit connection. They also collect taxes from these connections from time to time. But it is anybody’s guess whether the money so collected is ever deposited in the Governmentfund? The funny thing is the “Power Drive” disconnects the defaulters of Power Taxes, but these illicit connections in obscure places are often left untouched.
As the editorial pointed out “those disconnected consumers get the power line connected by themselves soon after the power staff left the spot.” The situation is rather deplorable. The onlookers though seemingly annoyed could not object to it probably a ‘Bhai-Bondhu’ affair or not to createpersonal enmity.
Most of the genuine consumers are paying a minimum rate fixed by the Department as all or most of the meters provided by the Department are substandard and not recording the correct consumption of power. The minimum rate fixed for such defective meters was Rs. 189.00 per month. This minimum rate was recently purported to have been revised to Rs. 405.00 per month, without consumers’ knowledge and without proper notification.
In the matter of billing the Power Tax it is very irregular. Some funny saying “Bill Forms are out of print”. If bills are not timely issued to the consumers how payments of Power Tax would be regular? Still funnier phenomenon is charging different rates of minimum power tax in the same locality of Rs. 195.00 for some consumers and Rs. 405.00 for some other consumers during this period of Power Drive.” How such things could happen? This matter definitely would attract consumer court. It is too much for a Government to ignore!
Yours faithfully,
B. Achou Sarma
Khongman Mangjin Imphal East
[Reproduced by KO from Imphal Free Press]
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