Orissa plans special courts to reduce power theft

Wednesday, 09 July 2003, 19:30 IST
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BHUBANESWAR: The Orissa government is planning to set up eight special courts to curb power theft and prosecute the culprits, state Energy Minister Suryanarayan Patra said Wednesday. At present, transmission and distribution losses amount to 42 percent. The government is hoping that the new measures would reduce this loss considerably, Patra said. The state government is also planning to set up seven police outposts in the 30 districts just to deal with power related crimes. Besides, special police stations would also be set up, the minister said. The four power distribution companies -- Cesco, Southco, Nesco and Wesco - would be told to take care of the finances involved in running the police stations. Patra clarified that the personnel appointed to the police stations would be under the administrative control of the state home department. However, the government would bear all the expenses of the proposed special courts. A lot of the groundwork seems to have already been done. Karnataka has already enacted an anti-theft law by setting up fast track courts and special police stations. Parliament has also passed a central law defining the offences and penalties, Patra said. The offences are listed in detail - including power and cable theft, purchase and stocking of stolen goods, tampering of meters and even wastage of electricity. Under this legislation, the guilty could get a maximum imprisonment of five years and a fine up to six times the defaulted amount. To ensure that everything goes off smoothly, a five-member team, comprising representatives of the state government and distribution companies, would visit Karnataka to study how the special police stations and courts function. Patra said the new moves would be implemented after the team returns from Karnataka and submits its report.
Source: IANS
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