Happy Ganesh Chaturthi to everyone! May your fortunes soar like petrol prices and may your troubles fall like the rupee, so reads one of the hundreds of messages being exchanged on social media. But, this has now turned out to be vice-versa with worries of a vast section surging like fuel prices, even as the State gears up in all its splendour and traditional pomp to welcome Lord Ganesha.
A notice issued by the Chief Electrical Engineer N N Reddy in a section of media has threatened to come down hard on any unauthorized use of electricity along the State’s coastal belt, giving these consumers just 30 days to report their overload and apply for an increase in load.
The chief electrical engineer tells us of his intention to create an awareness about power thefts. If at all the department wanted to create awareness, there was no need to go about it so secretly as done in this case. This is not the way to reach out to thousands of consumers, some of whom are totally disconnected with the day-to-day happenings in the media space. If the chief electrical officer was to convey his department’s ‘maan ki baat’ then he would not have threatened to slap Section 10 (Unauthorised Use of Electricity & Theft of Electricity) of Conditions of Supply. Which means the consumer can be fined, his power line could be disconnected and in extreme cases an FIR and due process can be initiated.
It’s an open secret that power overload has been happening over the years across Goa, and not just along the coastline. Very interestingly, the chief electrical engineer has selectively zeroed down on only the coastal areas. What we need to know is if there is any power consumption and distribution audit conducted by the electricity department. Or is it at the whims and fancies of a select few that coastal residents and establishments are being targeted?
Agreed that Goa is going through a power crisis and a constant check on pilferage is needed, but there is also a pressing need to upgrade our infrastructure and facilitate better distribution of power.
Power theft is a serious issue which is dealt with very lightly by the Electricity Department in the past. Goa is a tourist destination and going by that yardstick there is expectedly a higher power usage in coastal areas. The electricity department cannot handpick areas. A wider and systematic approach is needed if power leakages are to be plugged. Leave alone power audits, there are only a few cases where electricity officials have stepped out to verify if users have complied with the sanctioned load.
Call this a double whammy! The power shocker along the coast comes a day after the National Green Tribunal upheld Goa Coastal Zone Management Authority’s order which demolished any hopes of regularization of commercial structures within CRZ even if they existed prior to 1991. This means that all structures along the coastline within the CRZ and which are used for commercial activities have to be razed. This is bound to have huge consequences as thousands
of businesses which have been thriving under the cover of tourism and which will now have to shut shop. It remains to be seen how the government proceeds with this
‘mission demolition’.
