GUWAHATI, May 12 � Accusing the Assam Electricity Regulatory Council (AERC) of doing precious little than endorsing the power tariff proposals of the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) and its constituent bodies, public activist Prof Deven Dutta today questioned the rationale behind perpetuating the exercise year after year and compelling the public to bear the burden of glaring lapses on the part of the power authorities.
Addressing a press conference on the eve of the AERC�s public hearing tomorrow, Prof Dutta said that said that even though the AERC � an autonomous body � had the power to reject the �unjustified� power tariff proposal hikes, it never resorted to such an exercise and had always been happily endorsing the ASEB�s stand since 2003.
Lamenting the people�s, especially the social, student and youth organizations and political parties� lackadaisical attitude on an issue of such vital public importance, Prof Dutta said that this time only four organizations and one individual had filed objections to the tariff hike which were to come up in tomorrow�s public hearing.
�And more often than not social and student-youth organization end up making a hue and cry after the hike is accepted. They react only to media reports once the hike is endorsed which is like closing the stable after the horse has bolted,� he said, adding that political parties were too interested in cheap vote-bank politics to spare time for such genuine public issues.
Regretting that little intervention was forthcoming even as the power sector was going from bad to worse, Prof Dutta said that all along the Power Department and the ASEB had been behaving like brokers rather than putting utmost thrust on power generation. �Poor generation apart, there is huge power wastage and pilferage due to the sheer laxity of the authorities but nothing is being done to check this,� he added.
�The AERC has wide powers and can call for explanations from the ASEB on its various acts of omission and commission. But it is rarely done,� he said.
Prof Dutta also called for ending immediately the system of providing highly subsidized power to residents of select localities such as Capital Complex and IAS Colony. �In the Raj Bhavan and State Guest House (CM�s residence) too, a same fixed amount is charged which is actually tantamount to making the ordinary consumers pay for those,� he said.
Prof Dutta further alleged that the much-hyped power reforms were yielding little due to mismanagement and corruption.