SEBs’ losses pegged at Rs 170,000 cr by 2012 — Kumaramangalam

He asked the states to immediatley undertake reforms and said a central legislation for obviating the need for separate enactments for the states was being proposed.

Circulating the copy of the draft bill, which envisages corporatisation of all SEBs and their restructuring into separate entities, he said a delay of even three years in undertaking reforms would raise the fund requirement by over Rs 150,000 crore and increase exponentially thereafter.

He regretted that 35 crore indians or 7.7 crore households were still without electricity and said power shortage would increase three times to 18 per cent if the present situation continued.