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The Narayan Rane committee on power has recommended 10-20 per cent reduction in electricity tariff across industries, domestic and agriculture sectors for the next 10 months between January 2014 and October 2014. The ten-month period will help cover both Lok Sabha (April-May) and Assembly elections (September-October). The high-powered committee’s report based its findings on the premise that the high tariff had generated massive unrest among all sectors across the state.
The voluminous report, details of which have been accessed by The Indian Express, is likely to be tabled for further discussion and passage in the cabinet meeting next week. It has provided two alternatives to the government and also suggested the financial ramifications and how it could be overcome in short term. The report, which was completed in one and a half months, recommends the necessity to provide 20 per cent power subsidy to all sectors. It says: “If we implement 20 per cent power subsidy for the next 10 months, the overall financial burden works out to Rs 7,057 crore.”
It suggested that the state government should provide Rs 6,057 crore and seek Rs 1,000 crore from Mahavitaran, the state distribution company that supplies power to Maharashtra, barring Mumbai.
However, if the government were to consider only 10 per cent reduction in power tariff across all sectors, the financial burden would come down to Rs 3,444 crore. In that case, said the report, the state government should provide Rs 2,444 crore and the rest could be sought from Mahavitaran .
The report highlights sector-wise consumers and the quantum of revenue recovery in the last three years. However, despite drawing a conclusion that there has been decline in revenue recovery in 2012-13, mainly from the agriculture sector, it emphasises an immediate tariff cut.
Highly placed sources in the cabinet said the government’s failure to adopt the Rane committee recommendations during the winter session held in Nagpur in December was a “blunder”. The report was ready and Rane wanted it to be tabled on December 19 or 20. He reportedly sent the proposal to Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan “at least four times”.
“No response from Chavan on allowing tabling of the report was a political mistake, which allowed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) model to capture the public imagination. As a result, members of both ruling parties and the Opposition started agitating to exploit the unrest due to high power tariff across Maharashtra,” said a leader.
The sources said Chavan was not against tariff cut but felt they should first work out how to cope with the additional financial burden.
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