Politics of power in Odisha & beyond
Power politics is raging once again. Be it tariffs, waivers or subsidies, parties are busy capitalising on it in states where polls are drawing close. In Odisha, a power-surplus state, the Naveen Patnaik government finds itself in a tough spot with the Opposition trying to corner it over the recent tariff hike. A 5.6% increase for all categories of consumers, barring BPL and irrigation, came into effect in April. The murmurs of discontent against the raise have now snowballed into a full-blown political fight. The BJP has announced a statewide agitation seeking a rollback. It has trained its guns at the government, which it said pumped in hundreds of crores into reviving the power sector that suffered at the hands of natural calamities, whereas distribution companies still rue the poor infrastructure. The saffron party has also sought a white paper on the matter whereas the ruling BJD chose to brush aside the charges saying the BJP is trying to take away attention from the issue of fuel price hike. A number of BJP-ruled states too have hiked the energy rates, the BJD said.
Interestingly, the politics of power seems to have spilled on to Odisha from northern Indian states where Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal is hogging all attention. Days after the BJP promised free power for the first 100 units in Uttarakhand, the AAP boss visited the state and announced free power up to the first 300 units if his party wins next year. Interestingly, the AAP was at the centre of controversy for seeking closure of 10 thermal power plants in three states to reduce pollution. Punjab, one of the three states in question, is passing through political turmoil and an unprecedented power crisis is only fuelling the fire. The Amarinder Singh government is not just facing a huge energy shortage but also an embarrassing situation with veiled attacks from party-mate and former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu over power purchase agreements the previous government had signed.
In the last five years, India has seen a tremendous growth in energy security and access. The politics has now shifted from the issue of dependable power supply to the costs of accessing power. Its further course will be determined by the outcome of the state polls later this year.