Such a powerless Bill

It hardly seems worth the trouble any more to bring the Electricity Regulatory Commi-ssions Bill to life. The creature emerging after government amendments will be so frail that no one can count on it to bring about a revolution in state electricity boards. Nothing short of shock therapy will put them on a sound commercial footing. In buckling under pressure from the unbending Jayalalitha and the Akalis so early in the day, the BJP is left holding a piece of paper which reads like a plea for good behaviour, not legislation with muscle. When Jayalalitha and company support the Bill and go home claiming a victory for farmers, the BJP will try and share the honours. But will there be an answer for the deepening power crisis in the country, for dismayed investors and the slow pace at which new generating capacity is being installed?

The two key amendments announced in Parliament by Union Minister for Power P. R. Kumaramangalam restore the status quo ante bellum. States will be allowed to set whatever tariffsthey choose for all consumers and they may, if they wish, establish regulatory commissions. This amounts to a bill of freedom for states to go on plundering SEBs, as most have for decades. Kumaramangalam’s debating skills will be tested to the limit to prove the virtues of his latest position during consideration of the Bill in the House. He can assert blandly that the Bill’s original reformist purposes are unaffected by the changes. Or he can argue that it is a tactical retreat and there will be other ways of reforming SEBs. Worse still, he can promise more sovereign guarantees to private investors in state power projects and ensure that the centre bankrolls state profligacy. If there was any hope of the BJP being able to get opposition support for the undiluted Bill, it has faded fast. First, the BJP has not done its homework and seems to count on muddling through somehow. There is no sign of any special effort to persuade the opposition about the larger merits and save the Bill. Second, the Congress andLeft parties have decided that there is a Centre-state jurisdictional problem here. This skirts the real issue. The crux of the matter is that most States will not reform their politics and finances unless compelled by external factors. It looks as though the power crisis will have to get a lot worse, depress investment and bring consumers out on the streets, before sanity is restored.

This being the state of play, which way is reform headed? Sure, everyone is devoted to the idea in one fashion or another. All are persuaded that poor infrastructure is the major drag on economic growth. Doing something about it, as always, is the tough part. Even as past policy muddles set telecom and power projects back by several years, new ones are being created by the day. For a while the prospect of foreign government sanctions appeared to spur things on. But all too soon it is back to business as usual: half-baked measures from the government and its allies and the opposition pulling in as many different directions asthere are points of the compass. The government must get its act together.