PANAJI
Even as the CEE and the department made a strong case for the power tariff hike, there was stiff opposition and articulate arguments against it with many questioning the efficiency of the department and raising serious questions over its functioning to claim that the move which will burden the common man is unjustified.
First off the blocks to oppose the hike were those hailing from the industry side, many of who argued that the time of day (ToD) billing will cripple industry which is already under stress in Goa following the closure of mining and other extraneous factors.
Apex industry body the Goa Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) Director General Sanjay Amonkar has submitted that the ToD tariff for industries and HT consumers will not be feasible.
The GCCI's infra committee chairman, Gerard D'Mello said the hike will make power more expensive in Goa than other industrialised States like Gujarat and demanded that it be deferred.
Several individual domestic consumers questioned the GED's proposal which targets LT domestic category and small commercial consumers like hotels. The also made a case that the GED recover the arrears from defaulters which aggregate nearly Rs 168 crore before thinking of burdening the common consumer with a tariff hike.
The tariff hike is making the public pay for the inefficiency and other shortcomings of the GED, several others including politicians claimed.
Opposition politicians -- AAP's Benaulim MLA, Venzy Viegas, Congress State president, Amit Patkar and Goa Forward Party's Durgadas Kamat -- joined the nays against the proposed power tariff hike.
Viegas questioned the wisdom of the GED in proposing a hike while lacking transparency in its financial dealings. He said, the percentage of transmission and distribution losses were still in double digits largely due to corruption and power theft and in this scenario the department had no right to pass on the burden of the financial losses to the general consumer.
Patkar blamed the department for failing to recover pending dues from defaulters and pointed out that losses due to wrong categorisation of consumers like high-end villas rented to tourists being charged domestic rates should be recovered first.
Patkar said the department should crack the whip against illegal businesses tapping power clandestinely and not burden the common man.
GFP's Kamat opposed the proposed hike in tariffs as it would impact household finances and heavily burden Goan families from the middle and lower income groups.
