The government talks of transparency in working and asks for suggestions to improve its working but in practice it is in too much hurry to complete the jobs the way it likes. The Electricity (Amendment) Bill was referred to a parliamentary standing committee on energy and the committee had detailed interactions with industry associations and power producers on the Bill. The participants were Assocham, Confederation of Indian Industry, Independent Power Producers Association of India and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry. All participants were unanimously in favour of the proposed amendment to introduce segregation of carriage and content in the sector.
The standing committee mentioned in its report that it consulted all stakeholders. But the organisations of power sector employees and engineers and individuals, who placed their memorandum to the committee, were not invited to the discussions. It transpires that most states opposed the proposition of the central government, while the committee observes that "there has been encouraging response from most of the states on the idea of segregation of carriage and content".
I hope the government gives due consideration to the suggestions given by power sector employees and individuals, who were denied any hearing.
V K Gupta, Kurukshetra
Letters can be mailed, faxed or e-mailed to:
The Editor, Business Standard
Nehru House, 4 Bahadur Shah Zafar Marg
New Delhi 110 002
Fax: (011) 23720201 · E-mail: letters@bsmail.in
All letters must have a postal address and telephone number
