DIMAPUR — Amid efforts made by the government of Nagaland to arrest the low revenue due to rampant power theft, by installing prepaid electricity meters, the Dimapur Urban Council Chairmen Federation (DUCCF) and GB Union Dimapur (GBUD) have decided to oppose the installation of the device in the “present arrangement”, saying that it is against the welfare of the people.
In a representation to the deputy commissioner of Dimapur, the two bodies said that the decision was taken after a thorough deliberation on the pros and cons of the prepaid electric metering system installation in Dimapur urban areas by the Power department. The meeting was held on August 14 at Lotha Hoho Ki in Dimapur.
[bsa_pro_ad_space id=1]The house came to the conclusion that the prepaid electric meter is currently more of a disadvantage, both in terms of practicability and technicality.
“As per the central/state government directive, all government department offices, industrial set-ups and commercial establishments within Dimapur should be connected with the prepaid meter system which consumes a major chunk of electricity supply,” read the representation.
Maintaining that the people have accepted the digital postpaid meter billing system online/offline and has been effective with no room for tampering, it wonders what had triggered the department to introduce the prepaid billing system.
“Prepaid meters pave the way for privatisation which the system lends itself to be captured by a private company for profits only and not in the interests of affordable, reliable and sustainable electricity access for common people by and large,” it claimed. “The idea is pushing the system to neoliberalism, a policy model that encompasses both politics and economics which favours private enterprise and seeks to transfer the control of economic factors from the government to the private sector, making it absolutely against the interest of the general people.”
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