More power to the people

As per HT-CSDS survey, 46% of Delhiites think the power situation is better now than it was the last time they voted for a new state govt.

		Checkout for details The HT-CSDS Delhi Survey 2003 will be the largest and most ambitious survey of the political behaviour, opinions and attitudes of citizens of any city in India Methodology of the HT-CSDS Delhi poll survey How MLAs have been graded Cong set to come back to power in Delhi: HT poll BJP loses ground, all around

There’s news for everyone driven up the wall by Delhi’s endless powercuts. Irrespective of what happened in the summer of our discontent, a majority of us believe the overall power situation in the city has improved since 1998.

According to the results of the HT-CSDS Survey 2003, 46 per cent of Delhi’s voters think the power situation is better now than it was the last time they voted for a new state government.

The proportion of people who disagree is a good 15 per cent less.

The impression that the power situation has improved over the last five years is common to most social categories. Rich voters, the middle class and poor voters, all feel that they have more power now than before. Even those who have unauthorised power connections feel the same.

A majority of people living in slums are, however, unhappy. Forty-one per cent of people in this group feel the situation has become worse.

Voters in some constituencies are happier with the situation than voters in other constituencies.

In constituencies like Kalkaji, Matia Mahal and Sultanpur Majra, a clear majority feels that the electricity supply situation has improved over the last five years.

On the other hand, there are constituencies like Seelampur, Gandhi Nagar and Moti Nagar where a majority expressed the opinion that the situation has worsened over the same period.

Privatisation

Graphics

The Survey tried to gauge the people’s opinion on the privatisation of power distribution in Delhi. We found that the response was mixed.

Despite acknowledging that the overall situation had improved, a majority — 54 per cent — of the respondents say privatisation has not benefited the people of Delhi. Just about 30 per cent disagree.

The adverse opinion of privatisation is held by everyone except the rich and those living in Group Housing Societies (GHS). Among the rich, 45 per cent feel that privatisation has been beneficial, 41 per cent don’t. A majority of senior government officials (Class I and II officers) are also in favour of privatisation.

Power sources

The Survey shows 89 per cent of Delhi’s voters have an authorised power connection. People with unauthorised connections make up 8 per cent of the total. The rest of the people use kerosene lamps or solar power.