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Our Bureau

Kolkata , June 25

DVC's co-owning holding pattern is once again creating problems for the multi-utility corporation over tariff revision.

DVC has not had a tariff revision since September 2000. With the formation of the Electricity Regulatory Commissions, it was undecided as to whether the corporation, which is administered by the Union Power Ministry, falls under the jurisdiction of any of the state commissions or the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC). DVC is co owned by the Centre and two states — Jharkhand and West Bengal.

Just when this issue seems to have been settled and it was ruled that DVC is under CERC, the Jharkhand Government has thrown a spanner in the works by claiming that the Jharkhand Electrity Regulatory Commission be allowed to fix the tariff for the plants within the State. Majority of DVC's utilities are in Jharkhand.

To a question on this issue, the DVC Chairman, Mr Ajay Shankar, said that the advice of the Power Ministry has been sought to decide as to who has jurisdiction over DVC.

Not only tariff, the Jharkhand Government is raising the bogey of shifting DVC headquarters to the State all over again. It had once done so when the State was first formed. Nothing much came of this effort.

This time round, the Jharkhand Assembly has once again passed a resolution to this effect and forwarded it to the Centre.

Set these developments against the whopping Rs 1,302-crore outstanding (till June 25, 2004) of the Jharkhand State Electricity Board in favour of DVC.

JSEB's realisation of DVC's power bills stood only at 48 per cent in 2003-04 against 100 per cent of the West Bengal State Electricity Board and DVC's other consumers. "We have sought the Power Ministry's intervention in this matter," Mr Shankar said.

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