We, the people of Kerala, are at a crossroads today. For the last three months, we diligently followed what the state government told us to — not go out, maintain social distance — as we are aware of the Covid-19 threat. Many lost jobs or didn’t get salary and are struggling to feed their families, but what did we get as a result of following the government directions... manifold increase in our electricity bills!!
The Kerala government declared lockdown to control the spread of Covid-19 on March 23. People followed all norms without disagreement. The literate and responsible citizens who place public interest above individual plans have always been the strength of this state.
However, when people stayed indoors to keep themselves and others safe, the government was finding ways to loot them. Such hugely inflated bills are just an example for that. Shops were closed for almost three months, but their bills have gone up by 3-5 times. It’s a grave and malicious attempt by the KSEB to loot hapless consumers. Despite several complaints, neither the government nor the KSEB made genuine attempts to clear the air. “When people stayed indoors, consumption increased,” was the plain and insensitive logic of the KSEB.
This irresponsible behaviour calls for a mass protest as the number of people who lost jobs or who had to live without any revenue during the lockdown was huge. The government should start learning basics of public accountability. In the name of increased consumption, KSEB has inflated the bill without informing the consumers who were oblivious to the developments. When common man asked questions, they were silenced and ridiculed by the KSEB by using technical jargons.
KSEB had stopped meter reading by March 24. The door lock adjustment (mentioned as DL adj in the bill) is a practice KSEB resorts to when it is unable to check the meter. Delay in checking the meter has led to slab change and highly inflated bills. Not just the calculations were unscientific, there were serious discrepancies. KSEB should have acted as a responsible public authority and explained to the consumers before hitting them with a huge amount.
Imagine slapping a huge bill in the name of fixed charge on a small-scale trader, who had no option but to keep his/her unit closed during lockdown. Instead of support during a crisis, MSMEs and traders received a bolt from the blue. In a press meet over a week ago, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan promised to look into the issue. However, KSEB has now informed traders that they will have to pay the amount in instalments, which will come with a 12% interest. Is this how the government offers support? It must immediately waive off fixed charge for small-scale traders and roll back the inflated part of the bill for domestic consumers.
The callous attitude of the CM and the KSEB has forced us to launch a massive campaign titled ‘Lights Off Kerala’. In tune with Covid-19 preventive measures, this protest will be held within households, where people will switch off lights for three minutes at 9pm on June 17 to raise their voice against the inflated bills. The online petition I started in Change.org, is getting enormous support. The stir will continue till the government rolls back the bills and corrects the anomalies.
The protest is a warning to the government that they can’t loot the public in the garb of the Corona crisis. Governments often tend to become authoritarian and use the name of crisis to justify their actions, but we will keep reminding them that ours is a democracy where people’s voice is supreme, and their welfare is the sole responsibility of the government.