MARGAO: Upset with the notices issued by the Electricity Department, a group of citizens have called for simplifying the process of increase in load that has been initiated.
Citizens opined that instead of making consumers apply for the same, the department should inspect and register the load increase.
The present application system is not only a time consuming exercise but also a financial burden of at least Rs 1,500 on the consumer, claimed Savio Coutinho, a citizen.
He said that the proposed hike makes them feel that the government is making a provision in advance for a free power supply scheme. And probably as elections come closer, some free units’ scheme will be announced immediately after the hike to lure the voters, he stated.
He along with Maria do Carmo Pereira, Lalan Parsekar, Iftiyaz Sayed, Domnic Coutinho, Jack Mascarenhas, Sabita Mascarenhas and others, attended the public hearing held on January 9 on the proposed hike, and charged that the hike is in no manner justifiable.
“Though the proposed hike may appear to be in the form of some paise, however when calculated with the units consumed, the same results into a huge burden on the common man,” he stated in a written objection to the JERC.
To the claim of the Electricity Department that the increase in cost of imported coal was one of the reasons for the hike, the citizen questioned whether the government is making provisions for Adani at the cost of the common man.
It is difficult for us to understand that when the department very often allows One Time Settlement (OTS) schemes for defaulters, whereby lakhs or crore of rupees are waived off, the hike in tariff is a direct form of extortion from the common man who is regularly paying his dues on time, Sayed Iftiyaz said.
“The proposed hike is nothing but a cruel joke on every poor household. We consider this proposed hike as an easy method of covering up for the losses faced by the Electricity Department on account of its inefficiency in running its affairs. While the power supply stealers get protection, the poor man is made to pay for it,” Sabita Mascarenhas charged.
Citizens have called for encouraging solar power harvesting by revising the scheme, which will help reduce the quantum of power being purchased from other States.
