Minister Flays Seb Performance
The West Bengal minister for power, Dr Sankar Sen, has virtually served the quit notice to the members of the West Bengal State Electricity Board (WBSEB). In a scathing public attack on the boards performance, Sen blamed the management and a section of the staff for the poor state of affairs in the board.
The minister, who was speaking at a meeting organised by the WBSEB Technical Supervisory Staff Association at Bardhaman on Sunday, complained that the boards officers and employees were openly defying his orders.
Sen, who often indulges in self-criticism, had expressed strong views on the performance of the board at closed-door meetings. But, this is the first occasion that he lambasted the board in a public function.
A member of the board told Business Standard: The charge of incompetence is not against a particular board member. All members of the board have a collective responsibility for its performance. The minister is not happy with our performance and his public utterance has eroded our authority. It is indeed an expression of lack of confidence in us. May be, he wants us to resign immediately well before the completion of our term on April 30, 1998. But, we shall have to take a collective decision after we discuss the issue among ourselves.
Talking to Business Standard, Sen said, I have no plans to change the board prematurely. But, I feel frustrated as the board does not listen to me while I am answerable to the Assembly. The Sunday meeting was organised by the technical staff on the issue of service to consumers. I only reminded them that the state government will be forced to restructure the board if the consumers are denied proper service.
I have calculated that WBSEB can earn another Rs 224 crore under the present revised tariff structure. Yet, its collection system is poor and there is heavy leakage of revenue, although the last tariff increase has been the stiffest in the states history.
Bengal is one of the few states in the country which can boast of surplus in the generating capacity. Yet, new industries cannot come up in the same state as the board keeps them waiting for the power connection for years. The state exports power to its neighbours, but the boards consumers complain of poor service and long hours of powercuts.
Commenting on Sens allegation that 37 industrial units had been waiting for electrical connection since 1992-93, a member said, The minister may have some definite information. But, delay in giving connection is not always our fault. The consumers often do not complete all the technical work at their end.
Another member said, We have failed to live up to the ministers expectations. The distribution is surely a weak area.
The minister clarified: The board has remained a monolithic structure. It cannot continue to function in this fashion. Information on local breakdowns of supply does not reach sernior officers for weeks. I am trying to make all employees conscious of their duties by shouting at them at the top of my voice.
Do they know that the Indian Electricity Act makes all SEBs responsible to take electric power to every nook and corner of the states? If you go to the villages, you will find vast stretches of darkness.
The tall claim of Bengals power surplus is then a joke. At least outside the boundaries of Calcutta. Sen has enough reason to be angry.