BSE NSE Portfolio Tracker Login Password Forget Password New users Click here to register. Considering that it proposes to do this through an ordinance, rather than wait for a Bill to be passed by Parliament, the ministry presumably believes such a move is urgently needed to curb the theft of power. If so, it is only deluding itself. There can be no dispute that power thefts are a major problem in India.
Estimates are that theft accounts for about one-fifth of all power generated in the country.
In monetary terms, it means a loss of over Rs 22,000 crore in the power sector every year. That would be money enough to add roughly 5,000 MW of power capacity annually if the theft were stopped. Clearly, therefore, we need to tackle the menace urgently. Where the Centre seems to be going wrong, though, is in presuming that inadequate deterrent provisions in the law are responsible for theft on this scale. The reality is that deterrent provisions fulfil their purpose only if those responsible for implementing the law enforce them.