CBI should investigate power theft in steel factories: Regional Party
The Nationalist Regional Party sent a memorandum to the Chief Minister through Tehsildar Surendra Dev, demanding the investigation of power theft in the steel factories established under Roorkee and Kashipur Circle by ED and CBI from Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and while addressing a press conference at the Press Club, raised serious questions on the officials regarding the power theft in the steel factories of Uttarakhand.
The party submitted a 4-point demand letter and said that if action is not taken on this within 15 days, then the party workers will be forced to take to the streets and launch a fierce agitation in public interest. The party has also complained about this to the Prime Minister’s Office and the CBI and the Enforcement Directorate.
Nationalist Regional Party National President Shiv Prasad Semwal said that the officials of Uttarakhand Power Corporation are stealing electricity of 5 crore units (worth about Rs 40 crore) every month in the steel factories established in Roorkee and Kashipur Circle of Uttarakhand. Which is a direct loss of revenue of about 500 crore rupees annually. Then it is being compensated by increasing the tariff of electricity bills of other factories working honestly and the common consumer. This is sheer injustice.
*Thieves are having a gala time, rest of the factories are on the verge of closure*
Shiv Prasad Semwal said that due to electricity theft, factories working honestly in the state are continuously getting closed, but in connivance with the Energy Corporation, factories stealing electricity are closing their operations in neighbouring states like Uttar Pradesh and increasing the number of steel furnaces in Uttarakhand, due to which the government is suffering huge losses in electricity revenue, while factories working properly are on the verge of closure due to losses.
Out of these, 12 steel furnaces have been closed in the last 2 years.
Many factories stealing electricity have installed 4 to 8, 10 furnaces. But the electricity bill is shown for only one furnace. Rest of the furnaces are running on stolen electricity.
The line loss in Roorkee, Landhora and Kashipur circles where electricity theft takes place is 65% to 70%. But the losses in the area with line loss are being compensated by increasing tariffs in other areas as well.
The situation has reached such a point that factories stealing electricity are reducing work in their units in Uttar Pradesh and producing in Uttarakhand itself. To create a monopoly, they are buying raw material at high prices and selling the finished goods at relatively cheaper rates. This is compensated by electricity theft but in areas where there is no electricity theft and line loss is almost zero, due to getting expensive raw material, those factories are getting out of competition and as a result are on the verge of closure.
*Demand for investigation by ED CBI*
National Vice President of Rashtriya Regional Party Sanjay Doval said that it is demanded from the Energy Minister and the Chief Minister that a high level committee should be formed to investigate the steel factories of Roorkee Landhora Circle and Kashipur Circle, then you will find large scale power theft in about 10-12 factories.
Doval said that a committee of high level officials should investigate how many iron furnaces’ electricity bills are deposited here and how many furnaces are installed in the premises. Along with this, line loss is also up to 70% in Kashipur. Here also, by going inside the big factories, it should be investigated properly that how many electricity furnaces’ bills are deposited here and how many furnaces are actually installed, then it will be clear that the above factories are directly responsible for the power line loss in these areas. If power theft is found in these factories, then strict action should be taken against the electricity officials of these circles and these factory owners, managers. And this entire matter should be handed over to ED and CBI for further action.
*Government also needs to improve its policies*
State President of Nationalist Region Party Sulochana Ishtwal said that the government makes a lot of claims about making Uttarakhand an industrial state and making new investments, but the policies of the government also need a lot of improvement.
For example, electricity theft on such a large scale cannot happen only due to the collusion of circle officials, for this, the officials of Uttarakhand Power Corporation’s Managing Director level and higher level and people giving political support are also directly involved in it.
She alleged that brokers having high reach instigate even the factories that do not steal electricity to steal electricity. This is very unfortunate.
In all the divisions of Roorkee Kashipur circle where line loss is up to 65%, it is worth noticing that in all those divisions, there are more steel industries, their connected load is also only 25% of their total consumption, whereas the capacity of their parental transformer is many times more.
There is a rule of giving 400 KVA load per ton in steel factories i.e. a 10 ton furnace needs a load of 4000 KVA but if four furnaces of 10 tons each are installed in the premises then that steel furnace should not be given a load of less than 16000 KVA. Even if the factory owner says that he runs only one furnace. The rule for him should be that if he has four furnaces installed there then either he should run all four or three should be removed completely. Only then will electricity theft be stopped to a great extent.
*These are the four point demands*
1- Uttarakhand government should get the electricity theft especially in the industrial areas of Roorkee and Kashipur circle investigated by ED and CBI.
2- Following the policy of Uttar Pradesh government, the electricity tariff here should also be reduced by at least 3Rs per unit.
3- Line loss should be reduced.
4- To encourage electricity production in Uttarakhand, the collection of one rupee per unit royalty, cess, and water tax from the companies engaged in electricity production should be immediately canceled.
*This warning has been given*
The party workers have given an ultimatum through the memorandum that if the above electricity theft is not stopped immediately and action is not taken against the responsible officers and it is not investigated by a proper investigation agency, then to save the common consumers and the industries working honestly from injustice, the Nationalist Regional Party will be forced to take to the streets against injustice, the entire responsibility of which will be of the government administration.
Energy Corporation and the government are given 15 days to act on the above demands. If appropriate action is not taken within the said time period, then the Nationalist Regional Party will take to the streets and protest fiercely.
Nationalist Regional Party’s National President Shivprasad Semwal, National Vice President Sanjay Dobhal, State President Sulochana Ishtwal, State Organization Joint Secretary Rajendra Gusai, Shanti Chauhan, Rajni Kukreti and Dayaram Manori and other officials and party workers were present in the press conference.
