Rajasthan pulls populism plug

More than 700 villages across Rajasthan lie plunged in darkness for the past one year. Reason? In perhaps the first step of its kind, and in...

More than 700 villages across Rajasthan lie plunged in darkness for the past one year. Reason?

In perhaps the first step of its kind, and in sharp contrast to the free-power mantra of Punjab8217;s Congress government, the Rajasthan government severed in March 2001 almost 3 lakh domestic power connections in habitually defaulting villages that had notched up arrears of over Rs 10 crore.

Thanks to the crackdowns, revenue has soared from Rs 3,500 crores three years ago to Rs 5,000 crores this year.

The worst offenders are in south-eastern Rajasthan: 154 villages in Jhalawar district, bordering Gujarat, have had connections severed, 123 in fertile Kota, 102 in Dholpur. A total of 2,97,888 village connections cut.

The government8217;s rule of thumb was that villages where 80 per cent or more residents hadn8217;t paid up would be disconnected in toto 8212; including, perhaps controversially, those who8217;ve paid their bills.

Says Energy Minister Dr Chandrabhan,8216;8216;We don8217;t want Rajasthan to become another Uttar Pradesh. Providing electricity connections is part of social welfare but then they must be responsible enough to pay.8217;8217;

In fact, he says, the government may adopt more tough measures in future, including making it mandatory for villagers to submit, while applying for new connections, affidavits pledging to pay their bills.

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But while Chandrabhan puts it down to the government8217;s belief in 8216;8216;taking strong decisions8217;8217;, the root cause probably lies with the World Bank.

To implement power reforms, it says, increasing revenue and efficiency and slashing T038;D transmission and distribution losses are essential. So far, Rajasthan has received Rs 70 crore of a Rs 850-crore World Bank loan.

Cutting power supply isn8217;t the only step taken. Last April the government raised power tariffs by a hefty 17 per cent, just before the onset of the peak summer season. A radical decision for which they8217;re still facing public discontent, particularly in rural areas. So, though World Bank norms dictate annual tariff increases for the first three years, there won8217;t be another increase this year.

But with elections due in the state next year, isn8217;t the government scared of alienating their rural vote-bank? Says Chandrabhan, 8216;8216;We may be politicians but we have to be concerned about the state8217;s development as well. Without power reforms, this sector would have sunk totally. At least consumers should understand that we8217;ve increased generation. In the long run, it is power which will bring us to power once again.8217;8217;