On 07.10.03, BJP president Madan Lal Khurana began his
3-day dharna over CAG's adverse comments on modalities
of privatisation of power under Sheila Dikshit's
Congress government. Also on 07.10.03, Congress
office-bearer Devender Awana was arrested for cheating
power consumers under the single-point scheme of power
supply through private contractors in slums. Khurana,
and also Bidhuri of LJP, were quick to say they have
been saying loot by single-point contractors with
support of MLAs is rampant and to urge Delhi Police to
act on complaints pending across the city.
For the record, till the run-up to this election
Congress and BJP have had no differences over either
the single-point system introduced years ago or
modalities of privatisation of power lately. Both also
seem to view these as un-connected issues. On
25.09.03, when CAG comments were made public,
Dikshit's government released some survey to claim 77%
slum residents do not pay electricity bills. Khurana
did not object to the cover up of contractors' loot
and connected failure on loss reduction targets,
contributing to tariff hike barely two months ago.
And, even after Awana coincidence of 07.10.03,
'opposition' is seeking a solution from Delhi Police,
not Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission.
In October 2002 DERC had issued Public Notice for
comment on DISTCOM licenses ? on basis not of its
document but DISTCOM's primary drafts. The DISTCOM
drafts did not refer to single-point system at all and
at least some slum residents responded to the Public
Notice to point out the omission. In May 2003 DERC
held some 'stakeholder' hearings, to which
single-point contractors' association was invited, but
consumers who had responded to the Public Notice were
not. At the end of June tariff hike was announced.
That the single-point loot would have contributed to
the hike was mentioned to DERC ? in a letter, since no
Public Notice was issued for revised tariff order.
Dikshit simply dug into public coffers to pay 41
crores to DISTCOMs (not supplying power to the city?s
poor in slums) to be able to bring out bhagidari
advertisements about tariff subsidy in election year.
On 25.09.03 DERC held a hearing for NDPL's license
draft, to which neither government nor 'opposition'
drew media attention, unlike they did for the dubious
survey of Delhi government and to CAG draft report
comments of the same day. At the hearing was raised,
but scuttled, the matter of single-point system having
become nobody?s child in the transition from DVB to
DISTCOMs and legal basis for such situation to not be
licensed. Also raised, and scuttled, were illegal
DISTCOM practices and proposals such as charging of
higher tariff to non-conforming units, ideas for
commercial development of utility sites, etc, unworthy
of license and worthy of corrective action.
Afterwards, slum residents who had responded to DERC's
Public Notice and not been invited (also) to the
hearing on 25.09.03 wrote to request a hearing about
single-point system before finalizing DISTCOM
licenses.
The single-point contracting system is a poignant
example of deleterious dynamics of systems of public
loot. It was introduced amidst misplaced hysteria
about power thefts in slums and continued to survive
and degenerate even after it was realised this
accounts for a paltry portion of distribution losses.
Private contractors, earlier authorised by DESU/DVB
and unregulated since privatization, with local
politicians and police, diligently ensure that 20 lakh
people in JJ clusters do not steal power and are,
instead, robbed through its supply. They enjoy
political patronage in lieu not only of a slice of the
extortion pie (for which the city pays with tariff
hike and subsidy) but also for their services in
politics of bribery, blackmail and bullying. Most
bijli thekedars are MLAs' henchmen. They herd
electricity consumers to rallies, gatekeeper
everything from pensions to paving and generally keep
an eye on the vote-bank. It is no coincidence that
Dikshit's bhagidari system does not cover single-point
system territory even though slums need by far the
most urgent developmental intervention ? bhagidari's
political purpose has been accomplished in them by its
precursor single-point contracting system.
DPCC president has said about his BJP counterpart's
dharna, without quite denying his allegations, that
those who've scammed have no moral authority to blame
others. In politics amongst scamsters such rules of
blame-trading that passes for political debate
obviously limit political will to a matter of control,
not dismantling, of systems of public loot. This alone
explains why Khurana picked for his dharna for power
neither the recent tariff hike and failures on loss
reduction targets that it swept under the carpet nor
DERC's odd procedures and refusal to consider the
single-point system while finalizing DISTCOM licenses,
but CAG draft report comments on privatization
modalities ? to dramatically draw attention to the
horse that had long bolted... while the stable doors
are being closed.
Gita Dewan Verma / Planner / 09.10.03
__________________________________
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3-day dharna over CAG's adverse comments on modalities
of privatisation of power under Sheila Dikshit's
Congress government. Also on 07.10.03, Congress
office-bearer Devender Awana was arrested for cheating
power consumers under the single-point scheme of power
supply through private contractors in slums. Khurana,
and also Bidhuri of LJP, were quick to say they have
been saying loot by single-point contractors with
support of MLAs is rampant and to urge Delhi Police to
act on complaints pending across the city.
For the record, till the run-up to this election
Congress and BJP have had no differences over either
the single-point system introduced years ago or
modalities of privatisation of power lately. Both also
seem to view these as un-connected issues. On
25.09.03, when CAG comments were made public,
Dikshit's government released some survey to claim 77%
slum residents do not pay electricity bills. Khurana
did not object to the cover up of contractors' loot
and connected failure on loss reduction targets,
contributing to tariff hike barely two months ago.
And, even after Awana coincidence of 07.10.03,
'opposition' is seeking a solution from Delhi Police,
not Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission.
In October 2002 DERC had issued Public Notice for
comment on DISTCOM licenses ? on basis not of its
document but DISTCOM's primary drafts. The DISTCOM
drafts did not refer to single-point system at all and
at least some slum residents responded to the Public
Notice to point out the omission. In May 2003 DERC
held some 'stakeholder' hearings, to which
single-point contractors' association was invited, but
consumers who had responded to the Public Notice were
not. At the end of June tariff hike was announced.
That the single-point loot would have contributed to
the hike was mentioned to DERC ? in a letter, since no
Public Notice was issued for revised tariff order.
Dikshit simply dug into public coffers to pay 41
crores to DISTCOMs (not supplying power to the city?s
poor in slums) to be able to bring out bhagidari
advertisements about tariff subsidy in election year.
On 25.09.03 DERC held a hearing for NDPL's license
draft, to which neither government nor 'opposition'
drew media attention, unlike they did for the dubious
survey of Delhi government and to CAG draft report
comments of the same day. At the hearing was raised,
but scuttled, the matter of single-point system having
become nobody?s child in the transition from DVB to
DISTCOMs and legal basis for such situation to not be
licensed. Also raised, and scuttled, were illegal
DISTCOM practices and proposals such as charging of
higher tariff to non-conforming units, ideas for
commercial development of utility sites, etc, unworthy
of license and worthy of corrective action.
Afterwards, slum residents who had responded to DERC's
Public Notice and not been invited (also) to the
hearing on 25.09.03 wrote to request a hearing about
single-point system before finalizing DISTCOM
licenses.
The single-point contracting system is a poignant
example of deleterious dynamics of systems of public
loot. It was introduced amidst misplaced hysteria
about power thefts in slums and continued to survive
and degenerate even after it was realised this
accounts for a paltry portion of distribution losses.
Private contractors, earlier authorised by DESU/DVB
and unregulated since privatization, with local
politicians and police, diligently ensure that 20 lakh
people in JJ clusters do not steal power and are,
instead, robbed through its supply. They enjoy
political patronage in lieu not only of a slice of the
extortion pie (for which the city pays with tariff
hike and subsidy) but also for their services in
politics of bribery, blackmail and bullying. Most
bijli thekedars are MLAs' henchmen. They herd
electricity consumers to rallies, gatekeeper
everything from pensions to paving and generally keep
an eye on the vote-bank. It is no coincidence that
Dikshit's bhagidari system does not cover single-point
system territory even though slums need by far the
most urgent developmental intervention ? bhagidari's
political purpose has been accomplished in them by its
precursor single-point contracting system.
DPCC president has said about his BJP counterpart's
dharna, without quite denying his allegations, that
those who've scammed have no moral authority to blame
others. In politics amongst scamsters such rules of
blame-trading that passes for political debate
obviously limit political will to a matter of control,
not dismantling, of systems of public loot. This alone
explains why Khurana picked for his dharna for power
neither the recent tariff hike and failures on loss
reduction targets that it swept under the carpet nor
DERC's odd procedures and refusal to consider the
single-point system while finalizing DISTCOM licenses,
but CAG draft report comments on privatization
modalities ? to dramatically draw attention to the
horse that had long bolted... while the stable doors
are being closed.
Gita Dewan Verma / Planner / 09.10.03
__________________________________
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The New Yahoo! Shopping - with improved product search
http://shopping.yahoo.com