The Price Of Power

FOR Jyoti Basu, it's a power play with a difference and it's delivered more than just a mild shock. A senior member in his cabinet is said to have helped a public interest litigation against the West Bengal government and Calcutta's monopoly power utility, CESC. Uncharacteristically, the octogenarian state chief minister has remained silent over the most embarrassing crisis for his ministry to date.

Dr Shankar Sen, the minister for power, is the man concerned. And the issue in question is a public interest petition filed with the Supreme Court alleging a nexus between the West Bengal government and the RPG group-owned CESC. State government circles were intrigued to find several handwritten notes accompanying the writ, copies of which were circulated at a cabinet meeting. During the course of the conference, Sen denied any involvement when Basu asked him point-blank if the scribblings were his. The writ was later dismissed by the court.

Despite Sen's denial, many believe he had a hand in the matter. That has got him support from even staunch critics like the Trinamul Congress, apart from several members of the ruling front's constituent parties. With 15 lakh power consumers, it's not difficult to see why anybody taking on CESC is popular. Monthly electricity bills have soared by over 300 per cent in the last three years, with another 30 per cent increase slated for next month. Every hike was met by a chorus of protests from customers, chambers of commerce and political parties. But the power utility had its way each time.

That led to a spate of charges that the state government was working in tandem with CESC against the consumer. Its actions have not helped either. Last year, the power supplier had collected about Rs 100 crore through a surcharge, saying it had to make up for increased costs and losses incurred in transmission and distribution. The government-appointed Deb Kumar Bose committee held that consumers had been overcharged and suggested repayment. Instead, the state appointed an auditing firm to re-examine the report. The auditors' conclusion: CESC needn't make any repayment, but should rather collect another Rs 76 crore! The basis of the finding was never publicly explained, raising doubts about transparency.

"Basu feels he need not care for Calcut-tans, who never vote Left anyway. While the state electricity board (SEB) raised its tariff by 20 per cent over two years, CESC was allowed a 40 per cent increase," says Jayanta Dasgupta, a BJP activist. "This government exists to help CESC." Dasgupta may be overstating things a bit. But despite having to scrounge around for funds to maintain at least VIP Road, one of the city's most important avenues, it was only recently that finance minister Asim Dasgupta got CESC to repay around Rs 430 crore the company owed the SEB for some years.

Sen, though, has taken a tougher stand. The government's decision to reject the findings of the Bose committee was taken in his absence. A furious Sen promised to reopen the surcharge issue in the state assembly. Calculations by the department of power now show that whereas CESC should have been allowed to recover around Rs 76 crore as arrears by way of fuel surcharge even on the basis of the report of the audit firm, the government had allowed it to raise Rs 94 crore. Says Trinamul Congress leader Mamata Banerjee, "Sen might have adopted improper ways to give vent to his views, but his motive—to help harassed consumers—is laudable. " But did Sen have anything to do with the PIL? "If I'd helped it, with all my knowledge and backing, would it have been dismissed so summarily?" he asks rhetorically.

Others, though, feel he's been kept on to keep the lid on things. "The state government is fully aware how officials have connived to let CESC have its way at the expense of the common consumer. The notes on official files will make that clear. But people are afraid that a dismissed Sen would spill the beans, which explains the official silence," alleges Somen Mitra, former state Congress president.

The government would also be keeping in mind the fact that Sen is seen as the most efficient minister in the state. Again, he is not a career politician, but an academician who has been vice-chancellor of Jadavpur University. The Left Front has to tread softly here.