Nagpur franchisee will cause huge loss

Consumer organization Jan Akrosh has claimed that MSEDCL's move to franchise out three divisions of Nagpur would cause a huge loss to the company.

General secretary Ravindra Kaskhedikar, pointing out that the Bhiwandi franchisee had increased the losses of MSEDCL, wondered as to why the government did not reply to charges levelled by MLA Devendra Fadnavis.

"We fully support the agitation of power unions. The expected annual revenue from the three divisions is Rs 600 crore. Handing them over to a franchisee for Rs 5,350 crore for 15 years is open loot of consumers. MSEDCL did not spend a single penny of the three divisions in last three years but now has decided to provide Rs 12 crore per year to the franchisee for five years. Consumers will have to pay this amount from their pockets by way of higher power tariff," he claimed.

Kaskhedikar appealed to deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar to take lessons from Mula Pravara society. "It was the first franchisee type of arrangement. We all know the result. There is little chance that MSEDCL will ever recover Rs 2,200 crore from the society authorities."

Jan Akrosh has alleged that MSEDCL top bosses were opting for the franchisee systems to benefit certain companies. "Consumer interest is certainly not the objective of franchisee system. We challenge MSEDCL to hold a public hearing and convince the consumers that franchisee will be advantageous to them."