Privatization At It's Peak

In india we have been witnessing privatization for a while now. Especially in the last two decades, privatization has reached it's maxima and has almost overtaken all, responsibilties of the government. We will discuss here what privatizatio has done to us as citizens, whether or not our work has been simplified. We know that whenever there is a sector switch between public and private, a number of things change and that has led to several conclusions. Often it is being taken into account that the Public to Private switch is always good for the beneficiaries but that's a myth too. We experience several things being simplified when the transition is from Public to Private.

For example, consider my Electricity Bill. The electricity being supplied to my house is done by the TPADL(Tata Power Ajmer Distribution Ltd.) which is a branch of Tata. Now do I really need to be dependent on the government in context of electricity? Well, the answer could be no if and only if TATA were also a political party and would come to power. That is the misconception that mostly we fall prey to. The guidelines for power distribution, the price per unit of electricity, the meter installations and the salary of the employees, everything is decided by the government officials as per the law. The only work that the TPADL does is to circulate the electricity produced to every building in the city and generate the appropriate amount to be taken. Therefore, it not very justified to watch this process as a private producer consumer deal. Although we have been witnessing privatizations in almost every government sector. 4 out of 5 highways today are being built on a contract basis by builders. The estimate is being prepared, the budget is being decided and the deal is made. I hope you all have been through the toll plazas on the highways. That is the main income source for the compensation of the capital that they have spent on the project.

Similarly other areas include the building of the dams, railway tracks, institutions, gas pipelines etc. In all of these areas, the most favourable outcome is possible only because the power has been decentralized and the private institutions not only take care of the strong built up of the project but also for the maintainance of these structures. In a way, the privatization has cherished many lives and has won the interest of people which is why it has been so much promoted by the government. But looking at the two sides of this coin as well, we must put some light on the other side that is the cons of privatization. As the power is being tranmitted to these giant companies, also the decency to act with the public goes away in some cases. In some places, when a particular private institution gains the monopoly of the area because of the lack of other private firms, the company can use wrong means for their profits as the public has nowhere to go to. Other negative points can be the rates. The private company may use heavy machinary than the government and may charge the public accordingly, which can sometimes be unaffordable for the common man.

After seeing the pros and cons of the Privatization in our country, we certainly must be having a clear vision on which is better. Do share with Team Wrytin what's you idea for privatizations and if you have any real time experiences, do share with us in the section below.