India: "We shall fill the jails, not the bills" :

Farmers to rally on the 27th February at Mandleshwar

In the last few days, hundreds of farmers from the districts of
Khargone, Dhar and Badwani in Western Madhya Pradesh have refused to pay
their increased electricity bills that have just come in, after the
second increase in power tariffs in the last two years, and have
declared that they intend to undertake civil disobedience against the
state. Since the increased electricity bills are outside the farmer's
paying capacities, large masses of farmers have decided to take the path
of struggle with the rallying cry We shall fill the jails, not the
bills. ("Jail Bharenge,bill nahi" ) The Jan Sangharsh Morcha and the
Nimad Malwa Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan demand that the state government
immediately take back the electricity tariff increase and cancel the
anti-people agreement on the power sector with the Asian Development Bank.

It may be noted that as a consequence of the agreement of the State and
Central governments with the Asia Development Bank signed in November
2001, in the last two years there have been huge increases in the
electricity tariffs in the state. Because of the tariff increase the
bills that the farmers of Madhya Pradesh received at the increased
tariffs in the last fortnight are at least 70% above the earlier bills.
At the same time, the number of hours that the farmers will receive
electricity for paying these increased sums has decreased to only 6
hours a day. In comparison to last year's tariffs that were applicable
for 24 hours a day, the increase in tariffs has been 300%. It may be
noted that as per the Human Development Report 2002 of the Planning
Commission, Madhya Pradesh is one of the states in the country with the
lowest per capita income. Yet, the electricity tariffs of Madhya Pradesh
are higher than those of Punjab, Haryana, Karnataka, Rajasthan and many
other states. It may be noted here that the Energy Reforms Act, 2001 has
stated that the determination of electricity tariffs will be done on the
basis of the paying capacities of the consumers. Yet, clearly, this was
not followed by the Regulatory Commission.

"We shall fill the jails, not the bills" :

The farmers of Madhya Pradesh express shock and anger at receiving the
increased bills. The WTO regime brought in by the Central government has
had massive impacts on the agricultural sector, with deregulation of
imports has led to the flooding of the markets with cheap foreign
agricultural commodities, heavily subsidized by their own countries,
which has led to falling prices for these farm sector commodities on one
hand, and the removal of almost all subsidies in the agricultural inputs
such as seeds, fertilizers, pesticides for Indian farmers on the other.
As a result of this pincer action, very large numbers of farmers in
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Punjab and Kerala have started committing
suicide. Now, in addition to falling prices of crops and increasing
costs of inputs, by denying access to electricity to the farmers of
Madhya Pradesh through the massive increase in tariffs, the farmers of
this state are also being brought on the verge of pauperization and despair.

It may be noted that soon after the MPSEB filed the second tariff
petition asking for huge increases in electricity tariffs, the farmers
of Madhya Pradesh had opposed it during the Bijli Bachao Azadi Bachao
yatra conducted all through the state by the Jan Sangharsh Morcha and
the Nimad Malwa Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan, and stated that this tariff
increase would not be acceptable to them. Now thousands of farmers in
hundreds of villages of Khargone, Dhar and Badwani have resolved not to
pay these unjust bills. They have resolved that they will carry out a
civil disobedience campaign against the government, refuse to pay their
bills, rather they would fill the jails of Madhya Pradesh , as the
occasion arises. Farmers in a number of other districts are also joining
the struggle.

Tariff increase unnecessary and unjustified

The tariff increases that have been brought in the agricultural and
domestic sector were completely unnecessary in terms of increasing the
efficiency and the viability of the power sector in Madhya Pradesh. The
MPSEB asked for a total additional revenue of Rs. 636 crores to be
mobilized from the tariff increases proposed in the last tariff
petition. But this same revenue could have been generated from the
following sources.

1. Had the MPSEB simply implemented the first tariff order that
stipulated higher Plant Load factors and lower transmission and
distribution losses, the MPSEB would have been able to make an annual
saving of Rs. 1500 crores.

2. Had the government collected outstanding dues, most of them due from
industry and corporate sources , this would have yielded Rs. 1000 crores.

3. Last year, the state government declared that it would give Rs. 400
crores subsidy to the State Electricity Board but it failed to do so. As
a result, the MPSEB had to pay a fine of Rs. 400 crores. Had the state
government actualized their commitment , it would have saved the Board
Rs. 400 crores.

Lat year, the Madhya Pradesh government also waived the taxes of
corporates like Coca cola and Bajaj to the extent of Rs. 150 crores last
year and Rs. 340 crores as subsidies to the road building contractors of
Madhya Pradesh. Thus, it is amply clear that the electricity tariffs
have certainly not been increased because of fragile economic status of
the state government.

Regulatory Commission indicts the Electricity Board , punishes consumers.

The Regulatory Commission have clearly stated in their current order
that the State Electricity Board has either failed or only marginally
complied with their earlier orders and if this situation remains, the
Regulatory Commission will have to take action against the Board. Yet,
it is the consumers that the Commission has punished by hugely
increasing the existing tariffs for the agricultural and domestic
sectors. The Regulatory Commission have also stated in their order that
they are not aware of the agreement regarding the power sector with the
Asia Development Bank because the state government is yet to submit it
to them (never mind, that the present Chairman of the Regulatory
Commission is the Former Chief Secretary of Madhya Pradesh who was a
signatory to the ADB agreement), where as per the conditions of the ADB
loan agreement, another tariff increase is due in the June of 2003, only
a few months away.

Tariff increase because of collusion of foreign capital with state and
Central governments against the common people

The developed countries who want to exercise control over our markets
are working through multilateral banks like the Asia Development Bank
and the World Bank to impose such conditionalities on our governments to
ensure that the entire power sector passes into the hands of the foreign
multinationals. As a result of these conditions where on one hand, that
the Electricity Board is to be fragmented and transferred to private
corporates, on the other hand, by increasing the electricity tariffs,
the agricultural sector and the entire production economy of Madhya
Pradesh is to be decimated. A legal regime that can preside over this
has already been passed in Madhya Pradesh in the form of the Energy
Reforms Act, 2001, and the same sort of black law is presently under
debate at the national level. It is clear enough that the Madhya Pradesh
and Central governments have no concern about Indian farmers and workers
of this country and are colluding with foreign capital to subordinate
the public interests of the common people of this country.

The Jan Sangharsh Morcha the common forum of the people's
organizations of Madhya Pradesh as well as the Nimad "Malwa Kisan
Mazdoor Sangathan" demand that both the power tariff increases made in
2000 and 2001 that has resulted in thousands of farners having to leave
the grid be immediately reversed, that the anti-people agreement with
the Asia Development Bank be cancelled and that electricity available in
sufficient quantities with the NTPC and the Eastern Grid should be
bought by the state government to fulfill the energy needs of the state.
If the above demands are not met, the farmers and workers of the state
intend to intensify their agitation and take it to the entire state. On
the 27th of February, thousands of farmers and workers will gather at
Mandleshwar in District Khargone to protest against this electricity
tariff increase and the subordination of the public interest to the
corporate interests of global capital.

Alok Agarwal Vijay Panda Suresh Patidar
Narmada Bachao Andolan Jan Sangharsh Morcha Nimad Malwa Kisan Mazdoor
Sangathan
Convenor Adivasi Mukti Sangathan
Jan Sangharsh Morcha