Om Prakash, 35, an ice cream factory owner in Chanho block has to give away half of his monthly earnings in maintaining power generators. The situation of electricity supply is purportedly in such a shambles in Chanho that Prakash’s factory has to run on generators 24x7 many a times.
Similarly, Divya Kumari, 19, a student of the Cambridge Institute of Technology in Tatisilwai has to study under candlelight since her hostel gets power supply only for a few hours in a day. And once this techie’s laptop is out of juice, she has no alternative to learn programming.
Divya and Om Prakash were among the 30 odd consumers who expressed their concerns to the Jharkhand State Electricity Regulatory Commission (JSERC) during a public hearing on tariff revision and supply by the Jharkhand Bijli Vitaran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) here on Tuesday. Notably, the hearing turned into a platform for consumers to flay the electricity providers for alleged flaws in their system.
Industrialists, villagers, students and even representatives of spiritual organisations took turns to highlight the alleged irregularities in power supply and management in Jharkhand. And a majority of the speakers unapologetically slammed the corporation for turning a deaf ear to their complaints in the past.
JSERC Chairperson Arvind Prasad and Member (Technical) RN Singh presided over the hearing on the Indian Medical Association’s premises here on .
Industrialists from Dhanbad and Jamshedpur requested the JSERC to ensure Special Category Special Tariff for small industries involved in manufacturing steel. They said that a majority of the steel companies in Jharkhand were getting power supply under special category, and they would have no choice other than shutting down if the tariffs were increased.
“I pay Rs 2 to Rs 2.5 crore for electricity every month. Despite being a heavy bill payer, I do not get any additional facilities. In fact, the facilities have reduced over the years,” said Virendar Rai, an industrialist from Dhanbad.
Meanwhile, Swami Bhaskarananda from Yogada Satsanga Society of India requested the JSERC to provide subsidy on tariff to his institution for it is involved in running schools, hospitals and training centres and runs on no profit-no loss objective.
In reply, JSERC Chairperson Arvind Prasad said that a separate tariff plan cannot be framed for one particular institution, but the JSERC will look into the matter if other similar institutions can be mapped.
Some villagers seemed visibly unhappy with the JBVNL’s decision of charging same power tariff of Rs 6 per kilowatt from domestic consumers in rural as well as urban areas. It was unfair for the rural denizens, they alleged.
Tuesday’s hearing was the fourth such event in Jharkhand this year. Before Ranchi, similar public hearings were organized in Dumka, Medninagar and Hazaribagh. The next hearing will take place in Chaibasa, JSERC officials said.
“The JBVNL has proposed to increase the tariff by 50 paise to Rs 1 per kilowatt in different categories. We have invited people to express their concerns and make suggestions. The decisions on today’s hearing will be taken by the end of this month,” said JSERC Secretary AK Mehta.
