Guwahati, March 25: The Assam government today reiterated its resolve to end the monopoly of the Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB) in the power sector and unveiled a plan to upgrade Rabindra Bhawan into an auditorium with world-class facilities, including central air-conditioning.
Responding to a demand by members of the treasury and Opposition benches in the Assembly, power minister Devanand Konwar said the Assam Electricity Bill 2003 would be tabled during the ongoing budget session to pave the way for a restructuring process in the ASEB.
Konwar informed the House that the government had drafted a power reforms package to “unbundle” the ASEB through privatisation. The package aims to create separate generation, transmission and distribution entities within the ASEB, eventually leading to corporatisation of the organisation.
The minister, however, assured the legislators that not a single employee would be retrenched.
He said a team of officials from the Asian Development Bank would visit the state tomorrow to finalise the quantum of financial assistance for reforms in the power sector. The bank is understood to have agreed to provide a $200-million loan for the purpose.
Konwar said the ASEB had no option but to attune itself to the changing scenario. “The ASEB enjoys a monopoly. There is no scope for private participation without reforms. We should learn to swim or be prepared to sink.”
AGP members Hitendra Nath Goswami, Dilip Kumar Saikia and Gunin Hazarika and Independent legislators Premadhar Bora and Pabindra Deka blamed ASEB chairman Jitesh Khosla for the present state of affairs.
Apart from reforming the power sector, the state government plans to convert Rabindra Bhawan into a centrally air-conditioned auditorium. This was stated in a report compiled by the standing committee on education. The report was tabled in the Assembly today.
The committee approved the budget estimate submitted by the public works department for renovation of the Rabindra Bhawan and recommended a hike in the rent for the auditorium.
