MGP Objections To Electricity Tariff Hike Proposal

Chamundeshwari Electricity Supply Corporation (CESC), which supplies electric power to Mysore has filed an application before the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) to increase electricity tariffs for the period 2011-13. KERC is holding a public hearing on CESC's application on 25-11-10 at Mysore. Mysore Grahakara Parishat has filed the following objections:

1. Sec. 61(g) of The Electricity Act, 2003 (EA) intends that the tariff should reflect the actual cost of power. Since all the power supply companies in Karnataka have filed for identical tariff increases, it is obvious that the tariff proposed by them in general, and CESC in particular, does not reflect the actual cost of power. for example, the proposed tariffs (energy charges) for LT 2(a)(i) category is as follows:

Present rate Proposed rate

For the first 30 units 1.85 2.60

31 to 100 units: 2.90 3.65

101 to 200 units 3.90 4.65

201 to 300 units 4.60 5.35

301 to 400 units 4.95 5.70

For greater than 400 units: 5.90 6.65

These figures are identical for CESC, BESCOM, HESCOM, GESCOM and MESCOM. The actual cost of supply of power for all these companies can not be the same to the last decimal place when one takes into account, the different locations, different distances to power sources, different demographics and different costs of living. It is clear that the ESCOMs have not determined the cost of power supply in any scientific manner, but are presenting fictitious numbers. For this reason, the tariff hike proposed by CESC should be rejected. The ESCOMs have been always submitting identical tariffs and the Commission is requested to direct them to cease this practice and determine the actual cost of power supplied.

2. According to Sec. 61(g) of EA, the electric tariff should progressively reduce and eliminate cross-subsidies. The proposal of CESC goes contrary to these guidelines and tends to increase the cross-subsidy. The exclusion of Bhagya Jyothi and Kutira Jyothi schemes and irrigation pump sets (of upto 10 HP) from the tariff hike will increase the cross-subsidy from other users of electricity and thus violates the Act. CESC can not exclude Bhagya Jyothi and Kutira Jyothi schemes and irrigation pump sets from the tariff hike. If the government wants to subsidize these classes of users, it should reimburse CESC the increased cost of the subsidy.

3. Sections 27(1) (d), (e) and (f) of the Karnataka Electricity Reforms Act, 1999 stipulate that in determining the tariffs, the Commission shall be guided by principles of 'economical use of the resources', 'optimum investments', 'interests of the consumers' and 'commercial principles'. It is clear that none of these requirements have been fully met by CESC. The process of tariff revision should not only suitably compensate CESC for any unavoidable increase in the input costs, but it should also seek to eliminate wastage and increase efficiency to adequate levels. There is no need for a tariff hike now if CESC undertakes a committed drive to improve its operational efficiencies; to bring down the aggregate technical and commercial loss to international levels, to ensure accurate metering of all the connected installations, to improve revenue collection efficiency to 100%, to adopt international benchmarking and to adopt best work practices. Increased deficit between its anticipated cost and revenue does not give CESC an indisputable right to get tariff increases, without exhausting all available means to improve operational and commercial efficiency.

4. CESC has been focussing too much on power supply management and not enough on power demand management such as promotion of CFLs and LEDs, solar lighting and solar water heaters through incentives (both in the form of attractive energy bill discounts and subsidy through government in the capital cost), introducing Time-of-Day metering and the corresponding tariff, subsidizing the replacement of old and inefficient IP sets by modern efficient IP sets, discouraging garish night-time advertising, etc. If power demand is properly managed, it is possible that tariff hike will not at all be necessary.

5. Rural areas are suffering heavy power cuts in contrast to urban areas. This discrimination by CESC is against both equity and Sec. 5.1 of the National Energy Policy. The Commission is urged to order an end to such discrimination.

V.Mahesha, Working President, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Antibiotic Misuse

The first thing many doctors prescribe for almost any medical problem is an antibiotic. They are being prescribed even in cases where they are useless and even when they are useful, they are being prescribed for far longer periods than is necessary. The medical fraternity is finally waking up to this tremendous misuse of antibiotics.

Antibiotics work only when infections are caused by bacteria. But many infections are caused by fungi (ringworm, athlete's foot, yeast infection, etc.) and by viruses (common cold, most coughs, dengue, swine flu, chikungunya, etc.) and even though antibiotics are useless against these infections, they are very commonly prescribed for these diseases. Such inappropriate use of antibiotics has the dangerous consequence of creating bacteria which are resistant to antibiotics. When bacteria become resistant to antibiotics, curing bacterial diseases becomes very difficult and there is a heightened risk of deadly epidemics. It will be a throwback to the middle ages when millions perished from epidemics of cholera and plague. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the USA calls antibiotic resistance of bacteria one of the world's most pressing public health problems. In an attempt to stop this problem from escalating further, CDC began a campaign in 2003 to educate the doctors in the US on the dangers of inappropriate use of antibiotics and to discourage them from such use. Starting in 2008, CDC is observing one week in a year as the "Get smart with antibiotics" week. The "Get smart with antibiotics" week this year is being observed this week (15-21 November) and doctors are being urged to be economical with antibiotic prescriptions. UK and France also have national campaigns against misuse of antibiotics. But no such campaign to limit antibiotic use in India seems to have been launched till now.

As if misuse of antibiotics is not enough, routine excessive use of antibiotics has now come to light. When you go to a doctor with a problem which requires antibiotics, the doctor will prescribe the medicine for 7 or 10 or 21 days. When you start taking the medicine, you find that all the symptoms disappear after 4-5 days and you stop taking the antibiotic assuming that you are cured. If the doctor finds that you have stopped taking the medicine, he is sure to berate you severely for not taking the full course prescribed. 

But does the doctor have any basis for determining what a full course for an antibiotic is? The answer amazingly is NO! It appears that the guidelines issued by various medical bodies on how long an antibiotic should be taken are not supported by any solid scientific evidence at all! Instead, they are based on what the drug manufacturers recommend and since the manufacturers want to maximize profit, they naturally recommend long treatment durations. 

A detailed study conducted in the Netherlands and published in the British Medical Journal in 2006 (BMJ 2006;332:1355) provided the first scientific evidence for fixing the duration of a antibiotic course. It found that for certain types of pneumonia, discontinuing the antibiotic treatment after 3 days was just as effective as 8 days (which is the normal prescription). This shocked the medical world which thought till then that 8 days treatment was absolutely essential to cure the disease. But the evidence presented by the study was so compelling that, despite strong opposition from the drug industry, the medical fraternity was forced to launch scientific studies to determine the optimum antibiotic therapy duration for other medical problems. 

Conducting such studies is a long and tedious process and so all the results are not in yet. In research reported in Archives of Otolaryngology in 2009, it was found that a 3-day course of antibiotics after pediatric tonsillectomy is as effective as a 7-day course. In another research, it was found that a 3-day course of antibiotics for middle ear infection is as effective as a 5-day course and as a result the World Health Organization, in 2009 reduced  its recommended duration for middle ear infection treatment to three days. As new research results trickle in, it is certain that treatment periods for all antibiotics will be reduced, some drastically. 

But it does not appear that these scientific research results are being reflected in prescriptions in India. As a result, in India, antibiotics are being prescribed for too long a period (and for the wrong diseases, as mentioned earlier). It is imperative that Continuing Medical Education programmes educate the doctors here on misuse and excessive use of antibiotics. It may be difficult, because many large drug companies are aggressively marketing their antibiotics and any effort to limit their use will be vehemently opposed. In the USA, in light of the research cited above, the government has tightened the guidelines for clinical trials of antibiotics and the drug companies are threatening to stop manufacturing antibiotics altogether. One can only imagine the lengths to which they will go in India to protect their interests. 

According to the bestselling "The ICU Book" by Dr. Paul L. Marino, there are two cardinal rules concerning antibiotics, try not to use them, and try not to use too many of them. Consumers should be aware of these rules, which seem to be routinely violated in practice. This might be one reason why bacteria (containing the gene NDM1) which can resist almost all antibiotics, including the very powerful carbapenems, is widespread in India. If this trend is not reversed immediately, we could be facing deadly uncontrollable epidemics very soon.

C.V.Nagaraj, member, Mysore Grahakara Parishat

Public Discussion on Genetically Modified Crops

Genetically modified (GM) crops are set to invade India in a large way. The environment minister, Jairam Ramesh, has put a temporary brake on this invasion, but tremendous pressure is being applied to rescind his decision There is growing evidence that GM crops have several negative effects such as introduction of new kinds of allergies, greatly increased resistance to antibiotics, toxicity to various life forms, adverse effect on human health, loss of biodiversity, loss of control over seed production by the farmers, etc.

Southern Action on Genetic Engineering (SAGE) in association with Deccan Development Society, Hyderabad and HIVOS, Netherlands, is organizing a public discussion on how to counteract the pressure of the pro-GM lobby. It will be held at 11 AM on Sunday, 14-11-10 at Maneyangala of the Kalamandira on Hunsur Road. After a short movie on GM crops, P.V. Satheesh, the National Convenor of SAGE will moderate a public discussion on how to spread awareness on the effects of GM crops among the public, especially farmers. Anyone who is interested is welcome to participate.

K.N. Ramachandra, Mysore Grahakara Parishat and SAGE

Objection to the proposal of Mysore City Corporation to cut 201 trees

    To
        The Deputy Conservator of Forests,
        Mysore Division,
        Aranya Bhavan,
        Mysore 570 008

Sir/Madam,

Sub:  Objection to the proposal of Mysore City Corporation to cut 201 trees.

Newspapers of 20-21 October, 2010 have covered the press release of the DCF inviting objections from the public to the proposal of Mysore City Corporation to cut 201 trees to widen various roads in Mysore. It is said that the objections have to be submitted in writing within 20 days of the publication of the press release. Mysore Grahakara Parishat is hereby submitting its objections.

1. We object to the contents of the press release itself. According to "Deccan Herald" of 19-10-10, "In case of no objections, it would be treated as approval for the proposal and the MCC would be allowed to axe the trees." According to "Star of Mysore" of 20-10-10, "Measures will be taken to fell the trees if no objections are received, according to a press release issued by the DCF". This is highly objectionable. According to the Karnataka Preservation of Trees Act, 1976, it is the foremost responsibility of the forest department to preserve trees and give permission for cutting only when there are overwhelming reasons. Permitting MCC to fell the trees without any application of mind and waiting for public objections to reconsider the decision is a blatant shirking of its responsibility. It is clear that the makers of the law recognized that there is tremendous pressure to cut roadside trees in the name of development. But they also recognized that since these trees provide great environmental benefit, extreme care has to be exercised before they are allowed to be cut. This can be seen in the reasons for enacting this law stated at the beginning of the Act: "Trees which provide shade, mitigate the extremes of climate, render aesthetic beauty, purify the polluted atmosphere, mute the noise, have been one of the first casualties of pressure on space in our cities and towns...Avenue trees are destroyed...We have reached the stage when it is incumbent to legislate to restrict and regulate the felling of trees." The law clearly intends that the first priority of the Forest department is protect trees, especially mature trees. It is supposed to apply its mind, do a cost/benefit analysis of tree cutting and give permission for cutting only if the developmental benefits far outweigh the environmental cost of tree cutting. It can not blindly give permission just because there are no public objections. Such permission is a gross violation of the intent of the law.

2. Coming to MCC’s proposal, our objections and suggestions about alternatives which may be satisfy MCC's needs, but without cutting trees, are listed below:

i. The MCC should not have taken up the widening of the roads without prior consideration of the fate of roadside trees. It is presumptuous on its part to widen the road and then seek permission of the forest department for felling. This is happening far too often and any leniency given will promote felling of more trees elsewhere.

ii. Tree experts Dr. Kodira A. Kushalapa (former Regional Chief Conservator of Forests) and Dr. S. Shankara Bhat (former Professor of Botany, University of Mysore) have inspected the trees proposed to be cut. In Vani Vilasa road (where the road has already been widened in anticipation of Forest Department's permission), the 99 trees proposed to be cut are well grown, healthy and young and can survive for long and should be saved. The trees can offer very good shade for parking 2-wheeler and 4-wheeler vehicles in between main road, which is one-way and the foot path. Therefore the trees should be retained and permission to fell should not be given. One or two trees which are crooked or unhealthy can be replaced by tall tree seedlings planted with tree guards. The trees on the road are choked due to asphalting without allowing any soft soil around the trunk. This will prevent any increase in the trunk girth and may ultimately kill these beautiful trees. The soil around the base should be dug to free the trees to grow.

iii. The big Peltophorum tree in front of Karanji tank abutting the newly constructed bridge should be retained, as it is not interfering with the movement of traffic.

iv. The trees on Vihara Marga can be retained even after widening the western side of the road, as there is no movement of pedestrians and no pressure of parking of vehicles or residential houses.

v. On Mirza Road from Hardinge Circle, trees are marked for cutting only on the side of Kuppanna park. The road can be widened filling the earth up to the edge of the park and the widened part of the road reserved for 2-wheelers. This will save all the trees and the road being one-way, there will be no traffic congestion

vi. We have strong objection for removal of rows of trees in 4-5 different locations, when there is scope for saving and retaining, as done in other roads such as Kalidasa road.

vii. Decongesting the roads is the stated goal of road widening by MCC. In many of the roads, widening is being done at the expense of footpaths. This will force pedestrians to walk on the roads themselves, thus obstructing traffic and negating the very reason for which the roads were widened. So road widening will not attain its purpose. This can be seen in many roads which have been already widened (New Sayyaji Rao Road, Temple Road in V.V. Puram, etc.). In weighing the pros and cons of road widening and tree cutting, the Forest Department should also consider this fact.

Yours sincerely,
Sd/-
Sreemathi Hariprasad
President


Copy:   1. Sri. C.H. Vijayashankar, Hon'ble Forest Minister, Karnataka Government
            2. Sri. S.A. Ramdas, Hon'ble Minister for Mysore District, Karnataka Government

            3. Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Karnataka