Editor,
This has a reference to the letter “Does MeECL need to borrow Rs. 1300 crore?” (ST September 3, 2020). While the same would need a further analysis by all stakeholders including the consumers, we would like to mention a few important points that the authors might have missed out. To the public eye, it would seem that the whole amount of more than Rs 1300 crores has to be paid up. But in everybody’s mind are these questions:
(1) Whether the Government has started some sort of negotiations with the power utilities like NTPC, NEEPCO, OTPC etc., for waiver of the outstanding dues?
(2) Will the Government be transparent as to how some settlement with the power utilities regarding waiver of the outstanding dues and delayed payment surcharges can be possible?
(3)Will the Government spell out the amount of waiver that can be bargained or relaxed by the Ministry of Power regarding the delayed payment surcharges?
(4) Will the government tell us the impact the loan would have on the electricity tariff and the energy bills which consumers would have to pay considering the fact of the humongous amount of the loan? Only time will tell and we can forever remember the legacy that this Conrad Sangma led government would leave behind.
We had recently gone through a segment of the Economic Times dated September 3, 2020 wherein NTPC, India’s largest power producer, and sectoral financier REC Ltd (from where the State Government is availing the Rs 1300 crore loan) have been suggested by the Union Power Ministry that they should participate in the upcoming bidding for privatisation of distribution companies in Union Territories. Will this not be the trend for Meghalaya too, as privatisation of electricity distribution companies in UTs is intended as a model for emulation by other utilities across the country? Is the State Government aware of this, while intending to avail the Rs 1300 loan?
And what is this we are hearing – Build, Own, Operate and Transfer (BOOT) of Smart Metering of Shillong by a private firm? And what may we ask the State Government / management of MeECL is the purpose of all this? What is the source of funding? The distribution loss of Shillong is only 9 to 9.5% according to sources. It is learnt that the smart metering concept in other states of India is being implemented to reduce the huge distribution losses. A smart meter in such states costs Rs 2000 -3000 which is quite high. What will be the cost for such smart meters since the Power Minister had mentioned that the government is moving ahead with making Meghalaya as the first (are we hearing correctly?) state in the country to implement energy metering by smart meters? By how much will this intended BOOT reduce the distribution losses in Shillong? Why cannot it be done as a pilot project for loss making areas like Garo Hills where the losses are more than 70%?Then accordingly, an assessment, rather a cost-benefit analysis can be made as to its implementation. May the Power Minister as well as the Chief Minister of the Government of Meghalaya take pains to reply to these questions?
Yours etc.,
- K. Phanbuh& others
Shillong-1
In gratitude
Editor,
I am writing to express my deep gratitude for the article, “Relevance of Gandhi, Today,” by K K. Muktan. Indeed the principles that guided and inspired Gandhiji and his philosophy of ahimsa are perennial and universal — all the more in a militarized world armed with nuclear weapons. May Indians never forget their debt of gratitude to a man who not only fought for India’s independence, but elevated modern India in the eyes of the world, and died for his efforts.
It is easy to find fault with great men and topple their statues. Gandhiji himself knew he was not perfect. It is far harder to appreciate their sacrifices and acknowledge their stellar virtues which we ourselves have not yet reached. Gandhiji leads those rare luminaries of the twentieth-century who elevated the whole tenor of protest-politics — the others being Dr M L King, Desmond Tutu, and HH the Dalai Lama.
Yours etc.,
Deepa Majumdar,
Via email
Justice for rape victim
Editor,
Through the columns of your esteemed daily I would like to appeal to the citizens of this country to step forward and join hands in giving justice to Manisha Valmiki by hanging the rapists. Manisha Valmiki a Dalit girl from Hathras village,Uttar Pradesh was brutally gang raped by four upper caste men. After the incident she admitted to a Hospital in Agra and later taken to Delhi where she battled with her life for 15 days. At last she succumbed to her injuries on September 29, 2020.
Rape is a major problem in India. The accused have usually gone free either because the victim did not file a complaint or because of poor evidence collection. As per the NCRB statistics, every 16 minutes, a woman is raped somewhere in India, and every four minutes a woman experiences cruelty at the hands of her in-laws. In 2019, the country had recorded 88 rape cases every day. Of the total 32,033 reported rape cases in 2019, 11% were from the Dalit community.
The other countries have brutal punishments for commiting such crimes whereas India despite stringent laws has failed to stop rape. The long-winded investigation process by incompetent policemen often leads to delay in delivering justice to the rape victim or her family members. Often the judicial proceedings take several years and it becomes a case of justice delayed is justice denied. We can only hope that this case proceeds real fast towards justice.
Yours etc.,
Pinaki Nandy
Guwahati