Report of Indian Institute of Public Administration ... - Ministry of Power

Rajasthan
POLITICAL SUPPORT
GENERAL FINDINGS AND LESSONS LEARNT
(a) Faced with a choice between populist policies and reforms, Governments have
tended to favour the former. Support for reforms has never been spontaneous but
very often under compulsion. The staggering losses of the SEBs had made them
virtually bankrupt and hence at the political level there was no option but to go in
for reforms.
(b) Rajasthan had long back taken the lead in the rationalisation of the agricultural
tariff. An out-of-turn scheme called Nursery Scheme was introduced for
agricultural connections. The average waiting time earlier used to be around 13
years but instant connections were provided under the Nursery Scheme. The
initial charges were roughly 10 times higher and the tariff was 100 per cent
higher. Yet the scheme was a roaring success and thousands of connections
were released under this category. The scheme exploded the myth that
agricultural tariff is a holy cow. RSEB had succeeded in phenomenally raising
the agricultural tariff under the garb of optional scheme and thousands of farmers
opted for this scheme. The Planning Commission of India and the World
Bank have lauded the scheme. Unfortunately, due to political pressures,
which the DISCOMs could not resist, the scheme was diluted gradually.
(c) The average number of agricultural connections released used to be 25,000 per
year. In view of the fast depleting water level, this number itself was quite high
but the Government in its over-enthusiasm directed this figure to be raised to
40,000 connections per year. The increased number of yearly agricultural
connections was claimed to be a measure, which would drastically reduce the
number of pending agricultural connections, but the result has been just the
reverse. Such a large number of agricultural connections every year are a totally
avoidable burden on the DISCOMs.
IMPACT OF REGULATION
Notwithstanding the teething troubles and the occasional inroads of the State
Government, with the setting up of Regulatory Commissions, tariff matters have been
broadly insulated from the populist tilts of the Government. Gradually an attempt has
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