There seems to be a lot of (mis) information being spread - about the Mumbai Power Tariff situation, which is leading to confusion in the minds of the people.
I thought of contributing my opinion to the on-goings. Please spare a few moments and go through this post.
1. State Govt can bring down tariff.
Well, not really .. NO. The power to determine tariff rates are SOLELY with MERC, as per the Electricity Act, 2003. NO STATE GOVT can set the rate. At best the State Govt can grant a SUBSIDY (meaning the rate to the consumer will be low, but the Govt will pay the supplier directly).
In such circumstances, the Govt ends up incurring a loss (and Maharashtra is already in a loss) and will eventually RAISE TAXES in some other form to compensate for this loss. So we consumers WILL end up paying for this anyway, in case the State Govt gives any supplier any kind of subsidy!
2. Uniform Tariff in Mumbai
Uniform Tariff is NOT permitted by the EA 2003!! IN fact the whole concept of 'competition' will become defunct is the tariff is the same for all suppliers. Like in PETROL.
Also, (again) the Govt will have to end up paying the supplier to HOLD prices at a particular (LOW) level. This is what the Delhi Govt had been doing for the past three years - and now that subsidy has also been withdrawn recently.
3. Lower rates are benefiting builders/malls.
Builders/Malls had a much higher rate - which is partly on account of something called "cross-subsidy". This means that if the avge cost of power is Rs. 4 (say), then some users are charged Rs. 2-3, and the others are charged Rs. 5-7 (to make up for the 'discount' to the lower users).
The EA 2003 and the National Tariff Policy have mandated that the level of cross-subsidy is too high and MUST be brought down. Hence the unusually high rates MUST come down and (consequently), the lower rates WILL go up.
There's NOTHING that the Mah State Govt can do in this - neither can the MERC be held responsible - they are just following the law.
4. Tata Power is 'responsible' for the power shortage (!)
At the risk of sounding like a Tata spokesperson ....Did you know that Tata Power kept supplying power to REL/RINFRA even though it was NOT paid for THREE years? Well, you try and NOT pay RINFRA for three months and what happens??
Tata Power set up an additional capacity of 250MW in the last 10 years - while BSES/REL/RINFRA did not set up a single MW. Tata Power was formally given permission by MERC to shut down its plant as there was no need for additional power (as claimed by BSES/REL) - immediately thereafter BSES/REL started making claims for higher charge (reliability charges, etc) to 'ensure' continued power to Mumbai.
RINFRA did not sign any deal with Tata - and now, from 31.3.2010, its also going to lose the 500MW that Tata was giving it.
5. Tata is selling Power outside Mumbai for a profit.
Yeah, sure, Tata is getting money for the power it supplies to MSEDCL. There is nothing in the EA 2003 that can force a Generating company to supply power to any particular area/distributor.
Even RINFRA is selling power generated by its own companies, outside the State - RINFRA's Samalkot plant generates 220MW, Goa does 48MW and Kochi has 165MW - but does ANY of this come to Mumbai?? WHY??
RINFRA has been desperately trying to get the environmental clearance waived for its Dahanu expansion plan (1200MW) citing Mumbai shortage as the reason. The Supreme Court has stayed this - as it does not want any more pollution near Mumbai. Rightly so!
FINALLY ...
I'm not in favour of Tata - neither am I against RINFRA - I'm in favour of the CONSUMER, his/her rights, and the deal he/she is getting from the suppliers.
If anyone feels differently - they are most welcome - but for now, the law is WITH us consumers - we have a choice and we should be given the right to switch suppliers and put our own meters, so till the law changes ... well, this is it!
You decide...
For more info, join the BIJLEE group on Yahoo by sending an email to bijlee-subscribe@yahoogroups.com - or just visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bijlee/ and read the messages.
Thanks, for your time - I value it :)
Showing posts with label Citizen's Rights. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Citizen's Rights. Show all posts
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Saturday, April 11, 2009
Post 30 Apr - NEXT IS WHAT ??
Ever since 26/11, we have seen a surge in the number of Groups. Online groups at Facebook, Yahoo, Orkut and Offline Groups, like JNM (incidentally, who are doing great work). 'Offline' .. strange, how we refer to the real world as 'offline,' as if our real lives are no longer ONLINE!
Anyway, the real issue is (as Samsung asks) NEXT IS WHAT??
We saw a huge surge in patriotism and candle-burning and midnight vigils and promises of meeting every 26th at Gateway ... and now??
It's been 4 months since 26/11.
> Have the Police reforms issue moved even one step forward?
> Has the security improved?
> Have the threats gone away?
> Has justice been done to the city?
For crying out loud, everyone seems to have forgotten the poor souls who lost their lives!
I see the same pattern here. I receive 40-50 emails everyday informing me about how important it is to vote, go vote, find out about your candidate, find about his/her assets, know his/her criminal record, vote for the best independent candidate, etc., etc. - ad infinitum .. ad nauseum...
There is a new found 'patriotism' and we have many more 'independent' candidates in the fray. People from all walks of life, ordinary people ('one of us'), rich people, educated people, first-timers, young people .. all have jumped in.
And you know what I fear? These candidates will 'divide' the already fragmented educated, internet-savvy, gen-next votes!! I would have really liked to see the main parties back THESE new candidates - THAT would have made all the difference!
On the other hand, now what's going to happen is that the new wave voters are going to vote for these (numerous) independents, and further divide the votes. The winners are STILL going to be from one of the MAIN frontline parties.
Let's not kid ourselves into thinking that Dr. Mona Shah or Indur Chuggani and their ilk, are really going to win. God Bless them for their efforts - it's not easy - and, personally, I will be voting for an educated independent candidate myself!
What we need to happen - is to get the main parties to support candidates like Dr. Shah and Mr. Chuggani. It is THEN that we will see the CHANGE. Getting Mr. Adolf D'Souza into the Corporation is one story and getting someone into the Parliament is another!
In any case, what happens AFTER our beloved, chosen, educated, independent and most-worthy, candidate .. LOSES .. and we get the same crappy bunch of jokers once again?? That is when our real resolve will be tested.
I'm speaking from my own experience of the fight on the BIJLEE (electricity) issue. There was a huge hue-and-cry and massive din in Sept/Oct 2006 .. and the public hearing took place and then the Order was passed and people resolve themselves to the fact that 'nothing can be done' and get back to their lives. But, the key is in pursuing the issue, even when public awareness has died down. For instance, there are still a handful of us who have kept going hammer-and-tongs at the MERC, since 2006... and that's making a difference, even though it's a small difference.
I suggest a three-prong, long term approach to this issue.
1. We MUST vote - there are no two ways about it. If we do not vote, we have no right to complain.
2. We must EDUCATE the masses - its their vote that actually decides who gets into the parliament and drafts the laws that govern our children's lives. It is THEY who are the gullible, misled ones who the Politicians divide on the basis of caste, creed, religion, economy and whatever else!
3. While we are doing the first 2, we must continue to keep the bureaucrats and administrators in check. These 'babus' in the government offices are there to smoothly run the administration services and not to 'rule' over us. RTI is an effective way of doing that. Having received a reply, we must ensure that there is a systematic way of disseminating that (incriminating) information amongst all. And when I say all I mean the masses as well.
There is a fourth one - regarding the FOURTH estate - but I am assuming that they will rise to the challenge and ensure fairness by giving all citizen's issues fair mileage.
Would love to hear from all of you ...
Anyway, the real issue is (as Samsung asks) NEXT IS WHAT??
We saw a huge surge in patriotism and candle-burning and midnight vigils and promises of meeting every 26th at Gateway ... and now??
It's been 4 months since 26/11.
> Have the Police reforms issue moved even one step forward?
> Has the security improved?
> Have the threats gone away?
> Has justice been done to the city?
For crying out loud, everyone seems to have forgotten the poor souls who lost their lives!
I see the same pattern here. I receive 40-50 emails everyday informing me about how important it is to vote, go vote, find out about your candidate, find about his/her assets, know his/her criminal record, vote for the best independent candidate, etc., etc. - ad infinitum .. ad nauseum...
There is a new found 'patriotism' and we have many more 'independent' candidates in the fray. People from all walks of life, ordinary people ('one of us'), rich people, educated people, first-timers, young people .. all have jumped in.
And you know what I fear? These candidates will 'divide' the already fragmented educated, internet-savvy, gen-next votes!! I would have really liked to see the main parties back THESE new candidates - THAT would have made all the difference!
On the other hand, now what's going to happen is that the new wave voters are going to vote for these (numerous) independents, and further divide the votes. The winners are STILL going to be from one of the MAIN frontline parties.
Let's not kid ourselves into thinking that Dr. Mona Shah or Indur Chuggani and their ilk, are really going to win. God Bless them for their efforts - it's not easy - and, personally, I will be voting for an educated independent candidate myself!
What we need to happen - is to get the main parties to support candidates like Dr. Shah and Mr. Chuggani. It is THEN that we will see the CHANGE. Getting Mr. Adolf D'Souza into the Corporation is one story and getting someone into the Parliament is another!
In any case, what happens AFTER our beloved, chosen, educated, independent and most-worthy, candidate .. LOSES .. and we get the same crappy bunch of jokers once again?? That is when our real resolve will be tested.
I'm speaking from my own experience of the fight on the BIJLEE (electricity) issue. There was a huge hue-and-cry and massive din in Sept/Oct 2006 .. and the public hearing took place and then the Order was passed and people resolve themselves to the fact that 'nothing can be done' and get back to their lives. But, the key is in pursuing the issue, even when public awareness has died down. For instance, there are still a handful of us who have kept going hammer-and-tongs at the MERC, since 2006... and that's making a difference, even though it's a small difference.
I suggest a three-prong, long term approach to this issue.
1. We MUST vote - there are no two ways about it. If we do not vote, we have no right to complain.
2. We must EDUCATE the masses - its their vote that actually decides who gets into the parliament and drafts the laws that govern our children's lives. It is THEY who are the gullible, misled ones who the Politicians divide on the basis of caste, creed, religion, economy and whatever else!
3. While we are doing the first 2, we must continue to keep the bureaucrats and administrators in check. These 'babus' in the government offices are there to smoothly run the administration services and not to 'rule' over us. RTI is an effective way of doing that. Having received a reply, we must ensure that there is a systematic way of disseminating that (incriminating) information amongst all. And when I say all I mean the masses as well.
There is a fourth one - regarding the FOURTH estate - but I am assuming that they will rise to the challenge and ensure fairness by giving all citizen's issues fair mileage.
Would love to hear from all of you ...
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Are we really M.A.D ?
Yes, we ARE mad about what 'they' did to our city - and when I say 'they' I'm not referring to the Terrorists - I'm referring to those who allowed this to happen to us.
Still couldn't figure it out? Well, its us !!!
Yeah, right! WE allowed this to happen to us! (To know why I say, this read my earlier post).
Well, now that you (and I) are really MAD - are we really M.A.D - as in Making A Difference ??
Everyday, I receive at least 4-5 emails on how the NGOs are 'getting together' to 'make a difference'. Cool - everyone wants to do something about it and the only thing that seems to be happening is more emails, more meetings amongst fellow-activists (God, I HATE that word - I'd rather be called an alert citizen) and more public meetings being called for and more letters being written to the Administration.
It's almost becoming 'trendy' to be associated with some NGO Group, or the other. It seems like people have even lost faith in the existing NGOs (!) and so are creating new ones - with a combo of pretty much the same guys (say what?)
It's bad enough that the Administration has enough of problems to deal with - and everyday they get 'hit' by a few dozen well-drafted (for the Media) legalese letters asking them for explanations.
Chill guys - let these guys DO their work!! Isn't THIS what we are p!ssed about in the first place? Just think .. if we have each NGO/Activist (aargh!) write to the same 10 Admin guys - how many letters do you think these guys are going to reply to??
Everyday a new PIL seems to be filed, putting additional burden on the already burdened High Courts.
Everyday there is a new public meeting being called for (and the Police are expected to provide security).
Leave the guys alone ... STOP these letters .. STOP these meetings ... (I know I'm going to be VERY unpopular for suggesting all this!)
In the aftermath of 26/11, we seem to mixing up a great many issues here and we will end up confused and defocused.
Terrorism, Internal Security, Good Governance, Poor Administration, Corruption, Politician-Business nexus, etc. are being rolled into one big smelting pot. No wonder that we are angry and want to do 'something fast'...
I've said this before and I'm saying this again ... there is NO instant-coffee solution to this!
It's a long uphill task and needs constant, concerted and consistent efforts over an extended period of time. This is a Marathon .. not a 100m dash. Treat it with respect.
STEP 1:
If we are really MAD about what happened, let's use RTI for small things..
~Why is the road not repaired sensibly? Who was the contract awarded to?
~Why is there no complaint book in the booking office of the railway station?
~How many times are the Fire Brigade actually supposed to inspect buildings?
~How many times was a builder penalized for sub-standard material?
Ok .. these are just a few random (and maybe, poor) examples.
Forget the big questions about political-nexus and corruption - ask questions about things that affect YOU - your roads, your surroundings, your railway platform. If each one of the Gateway team sends out 1 RTI application to any one department just once in a month - you will have 12 lakh questions being asked - and asked about specific things - things that affect YOU.
YOU will feel EMPOWERED (Man, I love that word!)
Sure, you may not get all your answers - but someone somewhere in the Administration has started becoming alert - that he/she may be called upon to justify his/her actions - and that in itself will be enough to set the ball rolling for fixing things (I owe this theory to Shailesh Gandhi).
STEP 2:
Let's all start taking our voting rights seriously and ensure Voter Registration. The only way we CAN make a difference, is by getting sensible people elected in the chair and taking our democracy seriously.
Let's all volunteer to start a campaign of getting all the eligible people around us to register to vote. Let's facilitate this - circulate forms - post them on various Facebook/Yahoo/Google/Blog sites. Let us start with our own buildings and society complexes - to ensure that everyone around is registered. And when its time to vote, lets arrange for cars to get these guys to reach the polling booth. Let's make it like a party!
STEP 3:
Next time when elections are announced, let's give our electorate a choice of deserving candidates. Let's find the right people and make arrangements for funds for them to cover their costs of campaigning. Let's get detailed data on other candidates, compile that and circulate that across their constituency. (Using RTI for this may also work). Let everyone really KNOW these guys, who are standing for elections.
STEP 4:
Whoever is elected, let's ensure that they know WE can make a difference and have them thrown out for non-performance. We need to coordinate efforts and set up a 'elected-representative watch' (much like a neighbourhood watch?) and let these guys know that BIG BROTHER is really watching them closely.
Now .. all of this requires time - which not everyone has - but if we were to coordinate our activities sensibly, we can ensure that we have a platform in place - a support structure - so that even those who can commit one hour a week, can DO so .. and feel EMPOWERED and participate in this 'movement' for restoration of 'normalcy' in our lives and restoration of 'faith' in our own strength.
There are enough number of NGOs and Associations and Groups who are doing good work. Let's NOT keep creating more (this may dilute our efforts). Let us find a way of EMPOWERING each individual to Make A Difference.
The issue is not just about Terrorism and Good Governance - it is about participation in the democratic process (for which our fore-fathers fought and died) and about individual EMPOWERMENT.
Think about it!
Let's make a REAL difference...
Well ... and that's how I feel ...
Still couldn't figure it out? Well, its us !!!
Yeah, right! WE allowed this to happen to us! (To know why I say, this read my earlier post).
Well, now that you (and I) are really MAD - are we really M.A.D - as in Making A Difference ??
Everyday, I receive at least 4-5 emails on how the NGOs are 'getting together' to 'make a difference'. Cool - everyone wants to do something about it and the only thing that seems to be happening is more emails, more meetings amongst fellow-activists (God, I HATE that word - I'd rather be called an alert citizen) and more public meetings being called for and more letters being written to the Administration.
It's almost becoming 'trendy' to be associated with some NGO Group, or the other. It seems like people have even lost faith in the existing NGOs (!) and so are creating new ones - with a combo of pretty much the same guys (say what?)
It's bad enough that the Administration has enough of problems to deal with - and everyday they get 'hit' by a few dozen well-drafted (for the Media) legalese letters asking them for explanations.
Chill guys - let these guys DO their work!! Isn't THIS what we are p!ssed about in the first place? Just think .. if we have each NGO/Activist (aargh!) write to the same 10 Admin guys - how many letters do you think these guys are going to reply to??
Everyday a new PIL seems to be filed, putting additional burden on the already burdened High Courts.
Everyday there is a new public meeting being called for (and the Police are expected to provide security).
Leave the guys alone ... STOP these letters .. STOP these meetings ... (I know I'm going to be VERY unpopular for suggesting all this!)
In the aftermath of 26/11, we seem to mixing up a great many issues here and we will end up confused and defocused.
Terrorism, Internal Security, Good Governance, Poor Administration, Corruption, Politician-Business nexus, etc. are being rolled into one big smelting pot. No wonder that we are angry and want to do 'something fast'...
I've said this before and I'm saying this again ... there is NO instant-coffee solution to this!
It's a long uphill task and needs constant, concerted and consistent efforts over an extended period of time. This is a Marathon .. not a 100m dash. Treat it with respect.
STEP 1:
If we are really MAD about what happened, let's use RTI for small things..
~Why is the road not repaired sensibly? Who was the contract awarded to?
~Why is there no complaint book in the booking office of the railway station?
~How many times are the Fire Brigade actually supposed to inspect buildings?
~How many times was a builder penalized for sub-standard material?
Ok .. these are just a few random (and maybe, poor) examples.
Forget the big questions about political-nexus and corruption - ask questions about things that affect YOU - your roads, your surroundings, your railway platform. If each one of the Gateway team sends out 1 RTI application to any one department just once in a month - you will have 12 lakh questions being asked - and asked about specific things - things that affect YOU.
YOU will feel EMPOWERED (Man, I love that word!)
Sure, you may not get all your answers - but someone somewhere in the Administration has started becoming alert - that he/she may be called upon to justify his/her actions - and that in itself will be enough to set the ball rolling for fixing things (I owe this theory to Shailesh Gandhi).
STEP 2:
Let's all start taking our voting rights seriously and ensure Voter Registration. The only way we CAN make a difference, is by getting sensible people elected in the chair and taking our democracy seriously.
Let's all volunteer to start a campaign of getting all the eligible people around us to register to vote. Let's facilitate this - circulate forms - post them on various Facebook/Yahoo/Google/Blog sites. Let us start with our own buildings and society complexes - to ensure that everyone around is registered. And when its time to vote, lets arrange for cars to get these guys to reach the polling booth. Let's make it like a party!
STEP 3:
Next time when elections are announced, let's give our electorate a choice of deserving candidates. Let's find the right people and make arrangements for funds for them to cover their costs of campaigning. Let's get detailed data on other candidates, compile that and circulate that across their constituency. (Using RTI for this may also work). Let everyone really KNOW these guys, who are standing for elections.
STEP 4:
Whoever is elected, let's ensure that they know WE can make a difference and have them thrown out for non-performance. We need to coordinate efforts and set up a 'elected-representative watch' (much like a neighbourhood watch?) and let these guys know that BIG BROTHER is really watching them closely.
Now .. all of this requires time - which not everyone has - but if we were to coordinate our activities sensibly, we can ensure that we have a platform in place - a support structure - so that even those who can commit one hour a week, can DO so .. and feel EMPOWERED and participate in this 'movement' for restoration of 'normalcy' in our lives and restoration of 'faith' in our own strength.
There are enough number of NGOs and Associations and Groups who are doing good work. Let's NOT keep creating more (this may dilute our efforts). Let us find a way of EMPOWERING each individual to Make A Difference.
The issue is not just about Terrorism and Good Governance - it is about participation in the democratic process (for which our fore-fathers fought and died) and about individual EMPOWERMENT.
Think about it!
Let's make a REAL difference...
Well ... and that's how I feel ...
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