The Hindu Business Line : 10 SEBs pare losses by Rs 4,700 cr during last fiscal

AS many as 10 State electricity boards (SEBs) have been able to reduce their losses by Rs 4,700 crore in 2002-03 while four of them had done so by Rs 4,600 crore in the previous year, the Lok Sabha was informed on Thursday.Responding to the main question by the CPI(M) member, Mr Sunil Khan, during the question hour, the Union Minister of Power, Mr Anant Gangaram Geete, said the 10 SEBs which were able to reduce their accumulated losses after they had undertaken the Accelerated Power Development Reform Programme (APDRP) by the Planning Commission last year are Andhra Pradesh, Assam, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

He said as per the latest annual report of the Plan panel on the working of the boards, their commercial losses (without subsidy) went up from Rs 4,560 crore in 1992-93 to Rs 25,259 crore in 2000-01 and were estimated to increase to Rs 33,177 crore in 2001-02.

In response to a query from the member that the State Governments had not been utilising the money meant to wipe out the losses of their electricity boards granted under the accelerated reform scheme, the Minister said that his Ministry had received some complaints to that effect. "We are impressing upon the State Governments that the APDRP funds be immediately released to the boards.''When the CPI(M) member, Mr Basudev Acharya, said that year after year the losses of electricity boards were mounting despite the various measures put in place by the Centre, the Minister said that the Electricity Act, 2003 would help reduce the losses of the SEBs progressively.

Refining capacity: The country's refining capacity would go up from the extant 117 million tonne (m.t.) per annum to 161 m.t. per annum when three more refiners in Bhatinda, Paradeep and Bina go on stream, the Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas, Mr Ram Naik, told INLD member Dr Sushil Kumar Indora.

He said that there was no dearth of petroleum products in the country as India now posesses10 per cent excess capacity to refine petroleum and only crude oil was being imported and not products. He said after expansion, the Panipat refinery would be the single largest public sector refinery in the country, apart from the private sector Reliance that has a capacity of 27 m.t., which is the world's largest.

When the JD (U) member, Mr Nawal Kishore Rai, sought to know the rate of crude oil production in the country, the Minister said the country's crude production was only 30 per cent and the balance was being imported. That is why new exploration work was being undertaken in 92 blocks, he said.

On the issue of subsidy of kerosene and domestic liquefied petroleum gas, the Minister said that the Government has taken a decision that these subsidies would be removed in three to five years from April 1, 2002.

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