The Jammu & Kashmir Power Engineers and Employees Coordination Committee (JKPEECC) in ONE VOICE opposes the proposal of Central Government regarding privatization of DISCOMS in Union Territories.
It is a sad day for the Union Territory of J&K that the decision of Privatization has been announced in this crisis situation of COVID-19 which goes against the basic ethos of democracy where under the major policy decision shift requires threadbare consultations with all the stakeholders including general public which will have direct impact due to privatization of power sector. Further, the idea of privatization has been rolled out without looking at the ground realities and is bound to get failed.
The JKPEECC would like to bring following facts before the Government of India as well as Government of J&K so that the idea of privatization is rescinded forthwith:
That the Power sector of UT of J&K is entirely different than rest of the States of India not to talk of other Union Territories because of its geographical terrain.
That the grouping of UT of J&K in decision implementation vis-à-vis the rest of the Union Territories of India is nothing but farce as:
The population as per Census-2011 of UT of J&K is 3 times the entire populace of all the UTs of India taken together. (Population of UT of J&K: 122.67 Lacs; Population of all the UTs combined together: 36.05 Lacs).
b. The consumer base of UT of J&K is more than double than that of the entire consumer base of all the UTs of India taken together. (Consumer base of UT of J&K is around 23 Lacs whereas Consumer base of all the UTs taken together is around 9 lacs).
c. There is no comparison between UT of J&K and all the UTs taken together vis-à-vis distribution network.
That even the high powered Committee constituted by Ministry of Power, GoI have not recommended the privatization of power sector in UT of J&K in the first instance.
That the power infrastructure in UT of J&K is not compatible to the benchmarks set-up as per draft Amendment EA-2020 and requires massive upgradation before providing any reliable power supply to the consumers which is beyond the comprehension of any private player.
That the AT&C losses in UT of J&K have shown downward trend due to various flagship programmes under implementation since last few years, however when the losses will reach optimum level post completion of flagship programmes, the system is being handed over to Private players for profiteering.
That the Hon’ble Finance Minister has said that under the revised Tariff Policy the DISCOMS will not be allowed to pass on their inefficiencies and losses to consumers, however contrary to that, the maximum losses are because of Power theft and low tariff as compared to other States/UTs. The sustenance of any party dealing with
Power sector in UT of J&K is dependent on substantive revision in Tariff and ultimately big burden to the consumer pocket.
That the power employees of UT of J&K are concerned about their service conditions as well as status. Looking at the condition of erstwhile Delhi Board employees
The JKPEECC would like to request all the Political representatives of UT of J&K to fully oppose the privatization proposal which will destroy the Power sector of UT of J&K in its entirety and will burden the consumers who are already under economic distress due to various events specific to this region. All the Power Engineers and Employees of UT of J&K under the aegis of JKPEECC will have no option but to resort to agitation in case the proposal of privatization is not withdrawn.
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