The Hindu : Front Page : Delhi Govt. does U-turn over power cut order

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Sunday, May 07, 2006

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Delhi Govt. does U-turn over power cut order

Staff Reporter

Now shops and malls can continue to remain open beyond 7-30 in the evening

NEW DELHI: Fearing a backlash from citizens and traders, the Delhi Government on Saturday did a sharp U-turn and went into damage control mode, announcing that shops and malls need not down the shutters every evening at 7-30, but stopped short of promising uninterrupted power supply. The Government order of Friday announcing severe new power cuts and long hours of load-shedding stood withdrawn within 24 hours, indicating a great deal of confusion within the Government and a deep divide within the Delhi Cabinet.

According to highly placed sources, Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit was `very upset' that such an order had been issued in the first place on Friday leading to panic among the citizens and the trading community, already reeling under long power cuts and a harsh heat wave.

Unhappy at the manner in which the decision appeared to have been thrust upon the Government by the convenor of the Public Grievances Committee, Subhash Chopra, she is understood to have convened a meeting of senior officials on Saturday morning and decided to set things right.

Ms. Dikshit was particularly upset that Mr. Chopra had raked up the issue during the Friday meeting and virtually hijacked the proceedings. What aggravated matters further was the media briefing by Mr. Chopra and Delhi Power Minister Haroon Yusuf subsequently. It is learnt that the Power Minister informed the Chief Minister on Saturday that he was given to understand that Mr. Chopra had her approval before making the announcement after the Friday meeting.

"It is unfortunate that these people have not applied their mind and decided on such a step. Only the Delhi Cabinet is competent to take any such decision and not such a non-statutory body," Ms. Dikshit is understood to have told a senior official.

Sensing that damage had been done and things had to be set right, Ms. Dikshit is understood to have clarified the Government's position to a delegation of traders who met her on Saturday. Later Ms. Dikshit asked the officials to make it clear that the Delhi Government had issued no formal notification giving effect to all such decisions.

It is learnt that the authorities have been told to make it very clear that shops, commercial establishments and malls would not be required to down their shutters every evening at 7-30 p.m. and could continue to operate as per normal timings.

"The confusion reflects poorly on the functioning of the Government and the Cabinet. How can one explain such poor coordination where an order is withdrawn within 24 hours," asked a senior Minister.

A senior official said: "The effort would be to educate people, especially domestic consumers, that they should adopt conservation methods and save electricity."

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