By Abigail Syiemlieh
The Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL) has been under a lot of criticism for the poor state of affairs in supplying power to the State. One could initially point fingers and solely put the blame on the current MDA government but looking back at the tenures of the previous regimes, there is not much difference in the functioning of the Department.
This could be due to the fact that the MeECL has huge debts to pay off which has accumulated over the decades. The loans that the Department has taken over the years is really amusing! Looking at the previous regime, the total amount of loan taken rocketed to a whooping ₹ 1629 Cr which is approximately ₹ 203 Cr per year as compared to the last three years amounting to ₹ 166 Cr (approx. ₹ 55 Cr per year) only. This in return is causing to be a serious factor in running the Department smoothly.
As mentioned by the Power Minister in the recently concluded Budget Session with respect to the One Time Settlement (OTS) Scheme aiming to pave way to the consumers to pay off their outstanding dues such as to increase the billing efficiency in the State. The initiative led by the CMD offers a waiver of 100 per cent of Delayed Payment Charges (DPC) or 30 per cent of the total outstanding dues, whichever is more beneficial to the consumers.
With the recent news on the media stating that various industries in Byrnihat have been continuously using electricity illegally, this OTS Scheme would in one way prove to be beneficial in bringing these illegal activities to rest. When we say there is a large proportion of consumers not paying their bills, it is somewhat still logical since the amount accumulated for the consumers would not be at par compared to the bills that the industries owe to the MeECL. The Government should strictly follow up on the issue and try its best to revive the dried-up Corporation and bring it to its track.
The CCORMAU has recently argued and questioned the reforms initiated by the power department and MeECL authorities. However, they have failed to explain why they are against the One Time Settlement Scheme (OTS) which will waive off Delayed Payment Charges (DPC) for domestic and industrial consumers to recover outstanding dues. The Association was against giving special tariff to Byrnihat Industrial Association (BIA) but at the same time they conveniently forget to mention that the tariff is not set by the Power Department and MeECL but it is done so by the Meghalaya State Electricity Regulatory Commission (MSERC). Quoting the Power Minister in the last concluded assembly “The tariff is revised every year and there are petitions laid down by consumers and as such the consumers can petition the MSERC for revision of tariffs”.
It is high time that the irregularities in the MeECL come to a stop. As a concerned citizen I also feel it is time for the people and the Government to work together as responsible citizens and revive the mess that the department is currently undergoing. Our State cannot always dwell in the same period the MeECL has been going through over the years. It is time for the department to do away with its lousy work ethics and start anew by putting in place a contemporary system to sort out the wrongdoings within the department and bring about a change of air.
