People's
Democracy
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) No. 51
December 29,2002
(Weekly Organ of the Communist Party of
India (Marxist) |
Vol.
XXVI No. 51 December 29,2002 |
THE
Bengal
Left
Front
has
called
for
a
statewide
movement
to
force
the
BJP-led
union
government
to
withdraw
the
Electricity
Bill-2001,
which
calls
for
an
end
to
cross-subsidy
and
paves
the
way
for
enhanced
electricity
charges.
A
vast
procession
was
organised
by
the
Left
front
in
Kolkata
to
mark
the
beginning
of
the
movement.
In
an
appeal
to
the
people
of
the
state,
the
Bengal
Left
Front
has
said
that
the
notion
of
cross-subsidy,
where
the
high-end
users
paid
higher
rates
than
the
low-end
users,
has
been
employed
to
ensure
that
the
latter
is
protected
from
higher
rates
while
doing
away
with
the
need
to
bring
in
state
subsidy.
Withdrawal
of
cross-subsidy
will
leave
the
low-end
user
exposed
to
rates
that
are
much
higher
than
what
he
has
to
pay
currently.
The
payments
of
arrears
for
the
higher
rent
(for
2001
and
2002)
will
be
an
added
burden.
The
latest
move
by
the
state-level
electricity
regulatory
commission,
a
quasi-judicial
body,
has
resulted
in
a
substantial
hike
in
the
monthly
electricity
rates
of
the
Calcutta
Electric
Supply
Corporation
Limited
(CESC)
as
the
Table
alongside
will
show.
Units
Consumed
|
Current
Charges
(Rs)
|
Proposed
Charges
(Rs)
|
Proposed
Arrear
Payments
(Rs) |
|
25 |
40.00 |
97.75 |
154.25 |
|
50 |
92.50 |
195.50 |
296.00 |
|
60 |
113.50 |
234.60 |
352.70 |
|
100 |
225.50 |
391.00 |
551.50 |
|
150 |
388.00 |
586.50 |
777.50 |
|
200 |
555.50 |
782.00 |
998.50 |
|
300 |
890.50 |
1173.00 |
1440.50 |
(All
charges
are
on
a
monthly
basis)
The refixation upward of the electricity rates of the CESC will adversely affect more than 16 lakh low-end users while benefiting 1.5 lakh of high-end users who shall now pay considerably less than they would do earlier; the latter would also stand to benefit from the substantial refund that has been announced for them. Severely affected will be all schools, colleges, universities, hospitals, libraries, clubs, and self-help groups.
Once
the
state-level
electricity
regulatory
commission
gets
around
to
working
out
the
same
methods
in
the
rest
of
Bengal,
more
than
87
per
cent
of
the
power
consumers
under
the
state
electricity
board
will
face
a
substantial
financial
burden.
Launching
a
bitter
attack
on
the
Electricity
Bill-2001,
the
Bengal
Left
Front
has
said
that
once
this
bill
is
made
into
an
Act,
electricity
supply
services
will
in
effect
get
transferred
out
of
the
states’
list
to
the
union
list.
The
state
governments
will
henceforth
have
little
or
no
role
to
play
in
the
supply
of
electricity
in
the
states.
The
state
electricity
boards
will
be
phased
out
and
the
entire
power
service
sector
privatised.
The
economic
life
itself
will
be
affected
what
with
the
profit-hunting
private
sector
expecting
to
go
in
for
further
hikes
in
electricity
rates
the
moment
they
are
allowed
to
take
control
of
this
sector.
The
service
itself
will
surely
deteriorate,
as
has
been
the
general
experience
with
privatisation
of
this
crucial
sector.
The
Dabhol
project
of
the
Enron
Corporation
remains
a
bitter
and
lasting
testimony
in
this
regard.
Dwelling
on
the
role
of
the
state
Left
Front
government,
the
Bengal
Left
Front
said
that
the
state
government
has
decided
to
contest
in
court
the
decision
of
the
state
electricity
regulatory
commission
to
withdraw
cross
subsidy.
Earlier,
Bengal
chief
minister,
Buddhadeb
Bhattacharjee
had
written
to
the
prime
minister,
exhorting
upon
him
to
amend
the
act
that
calls
for
ending
cross-subsidy
in
the
power
sector.
In
Bengal,
in
the
meanwhile,
the
people-oriented
rural
power
development
corporation
has
forged
ahead
towards
the
task
of
providing
electricity
at
cheap
rates
to
the
people
in
the
villages.
