A move to privatise power distribution system in Uttarakhand is facing political opposition.
The government-run Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL), the sole power distribution licensee in the state, had proposed privatisation of power at Roorkee in Haridwar district and Rudrapur in Udham Singh Nagar district where transmission and distribution (T & D) losses and power thefts are very heavy. The move is being seen as part of the power reforms programme in the state where such attempt is for the first time.
But Congress leader Tilak Raj Behad has now given a call for Rudrapur bandh on January 15 to oppose the move. Behad, a local MLA, yesterday did not allow officials of a private company, which had evinced interest in the process, to survey Rudrapur area where line and theft losses are at 60 percent.
Behad said his main apprehension was that poor would not get power once the distribution system got privatised. Similarly, BSP, which has considerable mass base in the two districts, has also decided to oppose the move, its leader Mohd Shehzad said.
Earlier, the government had stated that it would make a detail study of some of the cities like Agra and Kanpur where the UP government had recently handed over the power distribution to Torrent Power company, which is also modernising the power distribution system there. However, no such survey had been undertaken and instead the UPCL went straight to the bidding process. According to the government statistics, AT&C losses in Uttarakhand are at 30-33 percent, mainly in the plains. These losses are mostly in Haridwar and Udham Singh Nagar districts where the two towns are located. According to an estimate, nearly 300,000 consumers record consumption of less than 30 units per month and 20,000 others show no consumption at all.
