SC expresses dissatisfaction over power crisis in capital

New Delhi, Aug 21 (UNI) The supreme court today expressed its total dissatisfaction with the way the power crisis was being handled in the national capital by the Center as well the Delhi Government.

A Bench comprising Justices K G Balakrishnan and D K Jain directed the Delhi Government to file a status report within three weeks containing its response to the proposal of TATA to set up a gas based power plant with a capacity of 1000 MW which is pending consideration since 2003.

The court also reprimanded BSES for sending inflated bills to consumers.

Amicus curiae Ranjit Kumar told the court that there was a shortfall of between 600-900 MW per day in the national capital and the affidavit of Delhi Government was silent on the short term measures to be taken by it to resolve the crisis as Delhiites were suffering long power cuts daily.

The court also pulled up Delhi Government for its non-serious attitude on the issue of power shortage and the court observed ''it seems as if the power crisis is the concern of the court and not of the state.'' The court also found the affidavit of Delhi Government 'not satisfactory'.

The Counsel for NDPL, a distribution company which is a sister concern of TATA told the court that the power theft in the city has been brought down from 53 per cent to 35 per cent.

The PIL, pending since 1999, started with the death of a patient in AIIMS who could not be operated upon due to power failure.

The court also reminded the Government of the reports regarding the absence of electricity meters in the entire Desu Colony and said that the Desu employees living in the colony were bound to be the major thieves of power in the city.

The Delhi Government in its affidavit has informed to court that the power crisis may continue till the Commonwealth Games. The court was also informed that Rs 922 crore have already been sanctioned for augmenting power supply in the city out of which Rs 105 crore have already been released.

The Delhi Government in its earlier affidavits had stated that there was no power shortage in the city and in fact the power was surplus and Delhi was supplying power to other states in the country but at present out of total installed capacity of 1700 MW only 1300 MW is being produced.

UNI AKS/SSC DKA RP RAI1432