Aheli Moitra
In a far corner of Dimapur, a family was worried about its bills. Piling debts had kept them from paying their house rent on time. There was also the worry of electricity bills that had piled up. There was no money in the house to pay this. But it could wait. Or better still, tampered with. So the man of the house got busy—he quickly mobilized his expertise and shifted the wiring from the electric meter to get direct supply from the main line. A gala unfurled—lights and air conditioners were kept on irrespective of time of day or seasonal requirements.
While this has serious ramification for the general health of the environment, it also means the usage of electricity from the house will not be registered in the books of the Power Department in Nagaland State. The habit is persistent among many houses that are too poor to pay rents and bills due to lack of avenues for earning and paying. It is also the lack of knowledge as well as sensitivity that pulling out electricity from the main grid without paying for it means contributing to the general lack of electricity throughout the State.
A news report appearing on The Morung Express on Tuesday, March 28, made an entirely new revelation. Nagaland State departments have been defaulting on payment of electric bills. As per the records of the Power Department, Nagaland State government departments owe it ‘electricity arrear’ to the tune of Rs. 9.31 crore!
Major departments like Home, Cooperation, Public Health Engineering, Medical, Public Works, etc. that should have impeccably functioning offices appear to be major defaulters. True to its image, however, the Raj Bhavan has cleared all its power dues, as has, thankfully, the Vigilance office, among others.
The report noted that “domestic consumers account for the major bulk of the arrears due to the department, the amount presently standing at a staggering Rs. 73.94 crore. The amount due from commercial consumers stands at Rs. 19 crore.”
This is certainly not a case unique to Nagaland and is prevalent throughout the Indian Union—we love our public facilities but groan to pay for it.
At such moments, whatever our collective hardships, it may do well to remember that power is generated from various sources, and then distributed from a common pool. The Government of Nagaland has to buy whatever power it is allocated from this central pool—however, given its crumbling infrastructure, the Power Department can utilize/supply only a part of what it buys.
When we do not pay our dues for what we use, or skim off electricity through other means, we lose revenue that could be used to strengthen the power infrastructure in the State which could, in turn, help us have access to much more power supply in our homes and industries.
Small changes to our private lives, like paying for government services, could go a long way in ensuring a successful public life.
Other thoughts can be shared at moitramail@yahoo.com
