The crisis plaguing small scale industries (SSI) in the city, most of which are tottering on the brink of closure, is set to escalate.
For, the SSIs face the grim prospect of an increase in power tariff at a time when they are yet to recover from the slump in production and manufacturing owing to slow industrial growth.
There are nearly 26,000 SSIs in Mysuru region, of which about 60 per cent are either sick or have shut down, while the remaining functioning units can barely break even.
Electricity supply companies (Escoms) have sought an upward revision of 80 paisa per unit across all consumer categories and each Escom has filed a petition before the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) in this regard. “The Mysore Industries Association (MIA) and other stakeholders in the region will strongly oppose the proposal as it will strike a blow to the industrial sector which is yet to recover from the recession and slump, first witnessed a few years ago,” said Suresh Kumar Jain, general secretary of MIA.
The SSIs and MIA are making a detailed study of the Escom proposal to file suitable objections. The MIA plans to seek the assistance of professional auditors and engineers to fight the case.
‘No scientific basis’What is intriguing is that every year, the Escoms come out with the common excuse that the purchase cost has increased and seek a uniform hike. Consumer groups such as the Mysore Grahakara Parishat have, in the past, drawn the attention of the KERC to this aspect and have argued that there was no scientific basis to a uniform hike as operational costs of each Escom are different.
Meanwhile, the local SSI units are citing the examples of a few other States, including Tamil Nadu, where SSI units have a different tariff rate and are not charged “commercial rate”.
“The industry creates jobs for thousands of people and shores up the economy. Hence, power supply cannot be treated as commercial. Instead there should be another category exclusively for SSIs which generate the highest number of jobs,” said Mr. Jain.
The bulk of the SSIs in Mysuru revolve around manufacturing units in Coimbatore and Hosur for orders.
