Bill to give shape to SEB debt rejig plan

A day after the government unveiled a Rs 2 lakh crore debt restructuring plan for the financially crippled state electricity boards (SEBs), Power Minister Veerappa Moily on Tuesday said the government would bring a draft model Bill within an year for fixing responsibility on SEBs.

“The Ministry of Power would bring out a draft state electricity distribution responsibility Bill after due inter-ministerial consultation within a period of 12 months from the approval of the scheme,” Moily said.

States will enact the legislation within 12 months from the date of circulation of model legislation by the Power Ministry to mandate compliance of the provisions of the debt restructuring package.

Earlier on Monday, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved the scheme for financial restructuring of SEBs. According to the plan, 50 per cent of the short-term outstanding liabilities would be taken over by state governments.

However, the approved scheme is not mandatory for the states.  Moily said so far only Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, Haryana and Tamil Nadu have accepted the scheme.  He also suggested that tariff rationalisation should take place annually by the states.