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G.K. Nair

All the extra-high tension consumer units in the State would face a similar fate in the future and the Indal issue is a test case.

Kochi , Nov. 18

THE indefinite delay in deciding on the issue of granting permission to Indian Aluminium Company (Indal) of the Aditya Birla Group at Eloor, to draw power from the Power Trading Corporation (PTC), might pave the way for the closure of the unit in the near future.

Even 105 days after the company had closed its smelter unit and sent the workers home, the State Electricity Tariff Regulatory Commission (ETRC) could not take a decision on granting permission to the company. In protest against the impervious attitude, the workers along with their families held a one-day hunger strike at the factory gate on Monday.

"The situation has reached such a stage that there is every possibility of the unit being wound up if the Government does not to intervene," Mr K. Chandran Pillai, CITU leader and Rajya Sabha member, told Business Line.

All the extra-high tension (EHT) consumer units in the State would face a similar fate in the future and "the Indal issue is a test case", he warned. He said the existence of the manufacturing industry in the State is inevitable and the Government must have a positive approach to keep it functioning and economically viable.

On a request by Indal, the PTC had agreed to supply power to the company at Rs 2.50 per unit. To draw the power, a no-objection certificate from the KSEB is required and the ETRC sought the former's response on the issue. The KSEB put the ball in the Government's court saying that a decision on granting permission to the company had to be taken by the State Government. Further, it said, Indal had not got the feeder capacity to draw power from PTC.

The company management shut down the smelter unit on August 1 and asked its 360 employees to stay at home as the concession on power charges extended to the company by the State Government had expired a few months back. It had already surrendered the power supply allocation of the unit to the State Electricity Board (SEB).

"We were pinning our hopes on the Regulatory Commission and the Government's lukewarm attitude has now shattered all our hopes," Mr K.N. Gopinath, General Secretary, Aluminium Factory Workers' Union, (CITU), said. The Government had put the workers in serious crisis, he said adding that the trade unions would intensify their agitation.

Management sources said the company was a major consumer of power at 20 million units per month. Prior to August 2001, the company was paying Rs 4.5 crore towards power charges per month and this had increased to Rs 6.75 crore following the two hikes in power tariff introduced by the SEB. At this rate, the unit cannot be run profitably and it has become economically unviable, they said. As the authorities had not responded positively the management of the company would take appropriate action, they said.

According to the Central Power Bill, a consumer could purchase power from any of the grids. Therefore, a timely positive decision was expected from the KSEB, they said.

Closing down the unit, which has been functioning since 1943, would render hundreds of workers jobless. Besides, such an eventuality would deprive the State of around Rs 168 crore towards power charges and taxes. Power is the major raw material of this plant and constituted 61 per cent of the cost of production, Mr Gopinath said.

Power intensive units came to Kerala long ago because of the fact that electricity was then available at cheap rates. Once this attractive phenomenon disappears then there is no point in running these EHT units. The attitude of the authorities would send out wrong signals to prospective investors, the officials and the union leaders pointed out.

The State Government should take urgent steps to make available power to the company from outside sources and get the unit re-opened, they said.

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