Cutting power rate in Delhi will wreck system: Montek

Supports increased water charges based on use; corporatisation of Indian Railways

Planning Commission Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia today said  attempting to drastically cut power supply rates in Delhi could wreck the whole system, leading to massive outages in the capital.

His statement assumes significance in the wake of a promise made by the principal Opposition party, BJP, to slash power rates in Delhi by 30 per cent, if it comes to power in the city elections this November. Aam Aadmi Party leader Arvind Kejriwal has also been campaigning for such a move.

“Cutting the power rates by 30 per cent will mean the Delhi government will  end up subsidising power by that much and the whole system will get wound up, leading to huge power cuts,” Ahluwalia said during a function to launch the India Backbone Implementation Network (Ibin), a joint initiative of the Planning Commission and India@75, a CII initiative.

Ahluwalia also used the occasion to make two more politically controversial points. One, that Indian Railways should be corporatised, to help it run professionally. Two, that water rates in urban areas for home consumption are too low.

“The charge constitutes just 60-70 per cent of the maintenance cost of water and not the cost of sewage that it generates,” he elaborated on the latter point. “People who take away a natural resource for urban use should pay more.” A suggested a rate slab, with those using more than this to pay more.

As for Ibin, it is meant to identify contentious issues and find a common ground among diverse players, to enable the economy to grow as it should. The aim is to enable collaboration between various parties to a dispute, like government, industry and civil society. Among its trustees are Infosys’  chairman emeritus N R Narayana Murthy, Tata Group chairman Cyrus P Mistry, Housing Development Finance Corporation chairman Deepak Parekh and Godrej Group head, Adi Godrej. Its executive council includes luminaries from various walks of life such as lyricist Javed Akhtar, sportsman Prakash Padukone and innovator R A Mashelkar.