Letter to Chief Minister, Power Minister and Power Department Nagaland

Business Association of Nagas (BAN) on behalf of business community would like to bring to your attention the problems faced by businesses and industrial establishments on the issue of pathetic power supply condition which is unfit to even be called as electrified. While the elected representatives in chairs are made as VIPs out of our precious votes, hence may not be facing problems as they enjoy all possible back up facilities at the cost of the state exchequer. On the other hand the business community is grappling to run our businesses due to chronic erratic and fluctuating power supply to earn our daily bread for our families.

It is discouraging to see the treatment meted out to business community the largest revenue contributors to the state by refusing basic right to electricity to run their businesses. While India and other North east states have moved towards competing in the market nationally and globally, in Nagaland business community mostly ends up wasting our time, energy and money to repair machinery and equipments damage due to fluctuating and failure of power supply. It is to be noted that most of the spare parts and technicians are mostly sourced from outside the state resulting in longer duration to repair.

The univocal rhetoric of the Power department of Distribution loss and Theft are disgraceful excuses put forth by every successive Govt. and Department over the years for the poor electricity in Nagaland, it has been uncovered and exposed by the recent Morung Express dailies pointing out at archaic distribution system and equipments.

Therefore, business community demands that the CM and Power minister answer few questions publicly:

1. Why MOU with the Center for “24X7 Power for all” was signed? Was it to fool the Central Govt. to beg for more money? We assume it is one of those countless regular exercises of dishonesty to put clean on paper!!!

2. The aggregate of money spend on Power by state government since statehood will be highest in country per capita. While the recent report carried by Morung Express dailies shows that our equipments and distribution system is fit for antique museum. So the question is where has all the money gone?

3. The state government oiling out every last penny from the business community through sales tax is justifiable responsibility of business community. According to Sales Tax department source the revenue has been increasing by leap and bound over the last few years to which the business community takes pride. However, the increase in revenue has not yet converted into developments interms of Electricity and Roads. We demand to know, where is our money?

4. Over the years there has been increase in power tariff conversely the power failure has also increased. We demand to know why?

5. The business community is also forced to serve many masters namely the Nagaland Govt. and various NPGs, it has become impossible to sustain business. Despite oiling out every penny in terms of tax from business community the security of business community is left to our own fend and business community are harassed and abused day in and day out by various NPGs for taxation the latest being Kohima incident. The question remains, whether the State government has any moral authority to impose taxation on Business community when it cannot even provide security and basic facility like electricity and roads?

Immediate Demand:
1. Immediate improvement of power supply in Nagaland.
2. Immediate improvement of Roads in Nagaland.

Advise:
1. The talk of Nagaland being progressive and developed state and vision 2030 leaves business community red faced as all those rhetoric are to fool the voters/public just on the mere fact that we do not even have a single road or electrified town at par with other north eastern states not to mention international standard a basic requirement for raising living standard and sign of economic development. Business community seriously advices the Govt. to stop talking about hi-fi international things but go to basics and try to catch up with other North-Eastern states which got their statehood way after Nagaland.
2. The government should also seriously ponder that in the event of hundreds and thousands of family running out of business due to bad electricity and road, what consequences and impact it will have on socio-economy of the state?

The Business community would finally like to appreciate the field workers who are giving all their efforts working overtime with no fault of theirs and request them to continue their good work for the society.

Sirs, BAN Looks forward for prompt action and response.

Business Association of Nagas