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KSEB crisis a creation of government: union

KASARAGOD: The State government is trying to create an artificial power shortage in the State on the pretext of Union government cutting down the power quota of the State from the national pool, Electricity Employees’ Confederation (INTUC) State general secretary M.S. Rawthar has said.

In a statement here on Tuesday, Mr. Rawthar said Electricity Minister A.K. Balan was trying to create an impression that the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) was facing a crisis and was trying to force load-shedding on the public. The ultimate aim of the government was to divide the KSEB as different companies and to privatise it. The campaign that KSEB was making losses and was in crisis was aimed at projecting a reason to privatise the board, he said.

The argument of the Minister that the Union government would not restore power quota of the State till it divided the KSEB did not hold ground as the power quota of several States, which included Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Orissa and Jharkhand, had not been cut though they had not divided their boards, the INTUC leader said. The Union government had in fact increased the quota of power to Tamil Nadu following strong pressure of the State government, he said.

Mr. Rawthar said he was astonished as to how the KSEB which had made a profit of Rs.184 crore nosedived to loss in just 18 months after LDF assumed power.

The talk of crisis in KSEB was despite the recent hike in power tariff by the KSEB, he said.

Mr. Rawthar said his organisation would go on a strike on April 23 against the move to privatise the board.

Public conventions would be organised in all districts prior to that, he said.

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