In the aftermath of the federal government’s decision to impose debilitating increases in the cost of petroleum products and electricity tariffs, only one conclusion comes to mind: the government acted in haste and did not think to devise a workable, reasonable policy. This has been further proved by the speed with which the Supreme Court (SC) has taken notice of the situation. The SC has challenged the legality and appropriateness of these price hikes and has warned the government to review the notification announcing the electricity tariff increase otherwise the court would intervene. Minister for Water and Power Khwaja Asif has been directed to submit a written reply to the court today. The SC was also the giver of some much-needed advice when it told the government authorities that instead of burdening the already crippled masses with further cost increases, it would do well to collect the Rs 441 billion dues owed to it on account of electricity. This is a welcome intervention by the SC as it has tried to wake the government up to the fact that it is just not fair to further burden honest bill payers and electricity consumers when there is a rash of electricity theft going on all over the country. While the government has, time and again, reiterated that it has been going after electricity thieves and has even been sending them to prison, it has still not managed to collect the shortfall of Rs 441 billion. This can only mean one thing: the government has never been very serious in catching electricity thieves, probably because many government institutions are responsible for unpaid electricity bills. To avoid such an uncomfortable situation, the government seems to think it is okay to make life as miserable as possible for those it knows pay their bills.
The court’s wisdom and advice are welcome in this case and one cannot help but notice that the honourable court has reached the conclusion that it should not intervene in government matters when it said that judicial intervention was not a good thing for the government. It seems the past five years of intervention by the courts have given the honourable court something to think about. In reply to the court’s directives, the government seems ready to handle the notification but probably not in any way that would bring relief to the consumers. It seems that the government is now consulting the National Electric Power Regulatory Authority (NEPRA), the body to authorise any such notification on price increases. This can only mean that the government is trying to rectify the procedure through which it can go ahead with its plan to raise electricity prices instead of taking back the increase. The government, so far, has not confirmed taking back the notification of October 1, 2013, but it does seem set upon covering all bases so that the legality of its notification cannot be challenged. That the government is now following conditions laid down by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) cannot be denied but the manner in which it is going about the removal of subsidies is deplorable. So much heaped together in one go is enough to break the public’s back. Maybe we cannot escape the removal of subsidies in the long run but the government needs to sensitise itself to the needs of the masses and carry out the inevitable slowly. We are in a head spin when it comes to making ends meet and the government would do well to remember that. *