Defining impact of pre-paid system : No free lunches underlined
- The Sangai Express Editorial :: May 01, 2012 -

Privileges come along with responsibilities.

The report that power consumption in Paona bazar has gone down by 50 percent since the introduction of the pre-paid system underlines the fact that consumers will come to the realisation that privileges (read power which is a necessity in this age) entails a corresponding responsibilty when it really starts pinching their pockets.

It means that the consumers are now forced to think about the power they consume as it literally and directly impacts on their earnings.

Not a bad development at all, for far too long the people of Manipur have been taking too many things for granted. There are no free lunches and this phrase does not necessarily have to do with the corporate world.

At the core is the question of paying for what one gets and the report that power consumption at Paona bazar has declined, post the pre-paid system, is a damning statement on now it had never registered in the minds of the people on judicious use of power.

In other words, it has been a case of wasting energy, since the pinch was never felt before. Here it would be fair to say that all the blame should not be laid at the doorstep of the consumers.

As things stand today, it is more a case of the Power Department levying a tax slab on the consumers without ever bothering to study how much unit of power each household has consumed.

And so it stands that no matter how much unit of power a household consumes in a month (which is a pittance, given the dismal power supply scenario), the same tax is levied.

Why should taxes be levied for days, or hours as the case is here, when there is no power supply at all ? This also brings us to the question of whether it is the consumers who have refused to pay their power bill, or a case of the Power Department failing to dispense its basic responsibility, which is collecting taxes ?

The question also naturally follows why the private consumers should be expected to clear their power tariff when the men in positions of power and responsibility are not ready to dig into their pockets and clear the power taxes. How much do the Government Departments owe the

Electricity Department by way of uncleared power bills ? There have also been talks from the Con-sumers Society of respective Consumers' Clubs, why there should be a classification of ordinary lines and uninterrupted power supply lines or VIP lines as is commonly known ?

This is a valid question which needs further deliberations. Uninterrupted power supply lines may be extended to enterprises which depend on power supply to keep the business of producing their goods going, without any interruptions, say like the numerous small scale industrial units, the lathe workshops, tyre repairing units, the photocopy shops, institutions which provide computer education, newspaper houses etc.

In reality, what we see is, anyone with the right connection coupled with the financial strength to get these lines, enjoy uninterrupted power supply while the rest, correction the majority, have to do with only 3 hours of power supply in a day of 24 hours. This goes against the principle of equitable distribution of scarce resources.

And what qualifies a person to be tagged with the term VIP ? The benchmarks have to be laid down in clear cut terms.

Unpaid power tariff, which in turn translates into the consumers not living up to their bounden duty as citizens of the land, has been bandied about for too long. Has the Power Department really and sincerely studied whether this is a case of the consumers refusing to pay their power bill or their own men failing in their duty to collect power tariff ?

Chief Minister O Ibobi seems intent on bettering the power supply scenario and this could be the reason why he has deemed it fit to keep this vital and important portfolio to himself. The point however is talking about ensuring 20 hours of power supply in a day of 24 hours can only appeal to the baser instinct.

Without addressing the basics of the points which have just been raised, it would not be anything less than playing to the gallery. The time is not for some bombastic statements.

The time calls for getting down to the basics of the issue at hand. Forget about 20 hours of power supply, let's start with 10 hours. Can the CM deliver this ? This is the basic point.