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Who'll bell the
Cat?
More often than not, it is the Government and its agencies which violate and flout the rules and regulations set by them. While the State Government has already cracked the whip against power bill defaulters and made it mandatory for all employees to clear their outstanding electricity bills to be able to collect their salaries it has already come to light that Government Departments, semi-Government institutions and co-operatives owe over Rs 30 crores as electricity bills.
So even as the Government has started snapping the lines of private power consumers on account of non payment of electricity bills we have Government Departments like MAHUD which owes over Rs 4 crores in electricity tax. The best part is even the Electricity Department has an outstanding electricity bill of over Rs 1 crore. Given such a scenario it is not surprising that a large number of power corporations from which the State purchase energy are breathing down the neck of the Government.
While the Government may brow beat the private consumers to cough up the outstanding power bill, the big question is what will it do against the Departments which have run up astronomical amount as electricity bills? We cannot buy the line that the Departments have not been able to clear their bills because of the poor fiscal health of the State.
On the other hand we are of opinion that the astronomical amount of outstanding power tariff is due to the negligence of the departments to clear the bills on time. Surely such a huge amount could not have come about in a matter of a few years or months. It is this refusal to pay attention to minor details like dispatching a file on time or paying taxes on time that has dealt a crippling blow to the functioning of the Governmental set up.
In as much as the Government Departments are guilty of neglecting such a basic issue as clearing their bills on time, the individual private consumers should not assume that this gives them the right to shirk their responsibilities and log up huge sums of unpaid power tariff. Rights and duties are two sides of the same coin and hankering only after our rights and privileges without giving a thought towards our duties and responsibilities is unwarranted. To have a responsible Government, we also need responsible citizens and vice versa. For too long Manipur has suffered because of an insensitive administrative set up.
It is not only the outstanding power tariff but a look around wilt surely establish the point that at most times it is the authority which bends, subverts and distorts the very set of rules and regulations laid down by them. Traffic rules are mostly flouted with impunity by the men in uniform and traffic jams in the crowded Paona bazaar and Thangal bazaar are, often created when these, men-in uniform park their vehicles plumb in the middle-of the road without a care for the others.
These-matters may seem trivial but scratch the top and the rot beneath will repeal itself for such disregard for the rule of law and regulations by men impositions of power and responsibility is sure rub off on the general population. That the Deputy Commissioner of Churachandpur had to establish two flying squads to ensure regular attendance of the Government employees perhaps best reveal how Government Department functions generally.
And to think that their pending salaries should be the main cause of worry for the State Government is indeed ironical. Whichever one looks at it, it cannot be disputed that the Government Departments have to start delivering. The huge unpaid power tariff reflects not the lack of funds but the inefficiency and lethargy that have gripped the administrative set up.
(Courtesy: The Sangai Express)
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