State Power Minister Dr Narendra Nath told Express Newsline that the factory owners' association in each industrial area will foot the collective bill and recover charges invidually. To make this ``part privatisation of distribution project'' a success, the DVB is even offering discounts on the bill.

The DVB has notified the decision to give a single point supply to industrial areas and an administrative order to this effect has been issued, a DVB official said.

``This appears to be the only way out to curb the power theft. We will charge them for whatever the industrial area consumes. Then it is their responsibility. And it is in their interest to check power theft,'' Dr Nath said. He said that he had held meetings with the industrialists and DVB officials and both seem eager to go ahead with this. Industrialists and factory owners had recently met the newly-elected power minister and urged him to ensure uninterrupted power suppy without which their business was being adversely affected. They, however, were unable to give any assurances on prevention of power theft.

`We decided to give them a single point connection. And even if the entire industrial area does not come together initially, we have asked them to form groups of 10 or more. Then those 10 factories will be on one electricity meter. And when we send them the bill they will collectively pay for it. We are even offering them a 15 per cent concession on the power tariff,'' DVB's member Technical Y.P. Singh said.

The factory owners are, however, skeptical about the move. ``Take for example our Wazirpur industrial area. We have more than a hundred factories of all sizes in each pocket. Some are steel furnaces consuming a lot of energy and some are small utensil making units which consume very little power. It will be improper for the smaller units to pay the same as the big factories,'' a factory manager said.

``It is an open secret that there is rampant power theft here. Why should the bigger units be interested in paying for power when they are getting it for free. After all as far as we know there is no compulsion to join the single point power group. And so far we do not even have details of the project,'' he added.

Member Technical Y.P. Singh said that so far the DVB had got a mixed response for the project. ``I will not say that there are no takers for the scheme. But at the meeting with the industrialists only outlines were discussed and they have asked us for details. We have already sent them the details of the project,'' he added.

Another DVB official said that this order would benefit not only industries but even the DVB. ``Just now we cut off the power supply to industrial areas because there is rampant power theft there. The same power is diverted to residential areas. Industries suffer. If they pay for it then their own business will grow and our revenue will also increase. This is our thinking. But now it is for the industrialists to come forward and curb the power theft,'' he added.