There is always a chorus of voices against the rise in prices, no matter the sector or sphere. The rule applies itself whenever power tariffs rise too. This time around in Goa, the scenario was the same, but somewhere down the line over the past few tariff rises, the voices have begun to make sense.
The Goa Electricity Department has come out with their new tariffs. There is an obvious rise in industrial rates but domestic consumers see a good drop in rates. The tariff of low tension domestic consumers has come down from Rs 3.20 to 2.40 per unit for units consumed between 201-300, and for units consumed between 401-500, there is a drop of 40 paise from the earlier Rs 3.60. The remaining slabs remain untouched and the minimum usage rate of Rs 130 for the first 200 units, which is among the lowest in the country. This also brings down the overall expenditure to domestic users in the State and comparisons with other states shows that there is anything between a 30 percent to 40 percent higher charge in Maharashtra, Karnataka etc, compared to Goa.
But it is not there that the chagrin exists. No consumer will complain about a drop in prices, even if it is election year. It is in the industrial sector where the Goa Electricity Department has aimed to make up the difference. A new category called ‘Agriculture Allied’ now has to pay a tariff of Rs 2.10 per unit, as opposed to the overall Agricultural category of old where the charges were Rs 1.30 per unit. Agrictultural Allied now consists of nurseries, hatcheries, prawn farms, and other units that do not fall under Agrictulture A, under which units and concerns directly related to farming and agriculture, including that of livestock and involved in irrigation fall. This means that Agrictultural Allied has widespread application, comprising of food processing units etc. As one of India’s burgeoning industries, the higher costs here might serve as a deterrent. There are also higher costs for high tension industries and hoarding, the latter of which saw an almost 30 percent increase to Rs 9 per unit.
Hoardings have the highest rates, followed by commercial concerns, then industries. The domestic are at the bottom, and rightly so. But herein lies the problem. Goa may be charging lower rates than most parts of India, but in other states, like Karnataka and Maharashtra for instance, mentioned since they share a border, the infrastructure provided is excellent in most places. Goa is charging higher infrastructure tax and rates but not improving on the poor infrastructure that exists in the State, this despite having a Rs 800 crore kitty that is just sitting in the State coffers.
There is a need to boost infrastructure. There is also a need to work on alternative methods of power generation, since the proposal to build two power plants was vetoed on account of them being coal generated. Hydro power is possible but there are concerns by environmentalists, since the rivers and damns are located in wildlife sanctuaries. Solar power is the best bet but this process would have to be bootstrapped for now.
There is little hope that the government will roll back the prices. If they do, they would have to go back to the previous domestic rates, which would irk the local consumer. Hence, a plan to build infrastructure, and fast, is the more logical way out.
