Smart meter installation campaigns are being aggressively pushed to compensate for the losses caused by powerful industrialists and electricity thieves, effectively robbing the common public to cover for the looting of the powerful.
Prominent industrialists and those in power are stealing electricity, causing massive losses to power distribution companies. To compensate for these losses, a campaign to install smart meters is being run to rob the common people. This is like treating cancer with malaria pills!
This analogy was presented by Shankar Lal Chaudhary, State Secretary of the CPI(ML), during a meeting against smart meters and the privatization of electricity held at Shiralai Bhavan in Machhla Mangra on Sunday.
The meeting, chaired by senior Marxist leader Ramchandra Sharma, saw Chaudhary further state that smart meters are being opposed across the country because the government, by showing losses in public sector units, intends to hand them over to private entities. This would give private companies a free hand to loot the public, which is unacceptable to the conscious citizens of the country.
Speaking at the meeting, Leela Sharma, a central committee member of the MCPI(U), said that the smart meter plan is a central government initiative, and movements against it are underway across India. The aware citizens of Udaipur will also make this movement a success. She accused the government of misleading the public by creating confusion about smart meters.
CPI(M) District Secretary and former councillor Rajesh Singhvi said that the government wants to shirk its responsibilities on essential issues like electricity, water, health, and education, treating them all as luxury items. He alleged that by installing smart meters, the government aims to control even the private lives of common people. Singhvi also claimed that while Congress workers and supporters want to fight against smart meters, the previous Congress government in Rajasthan and its leaders betrayed the public by approving their installation, “selling their conscience.”
Nirbhay Singh Rathore, AAP District President, claimed that in the name of development, the government robs ₹1 from the public’s pocket and spends only 10 paise, misleading them. He stated that while Modi talks of a developed India (‘Viksit Bharat’), on the other hand, he is implementing policies that keep the majority of the country’s population in darkness.
The meeting was attended by social activist Rupalal Menaria, CPI(M) District Secretariat member Guman Singh Rao, Councillor Rajendra Vasita, Construction Workers Unity Union President Shamsher Khan, Vice President Amjad Sheikh, Janwadi Mahila Samiti District President Sabira Atarwala, Secretary Rani Mali, Vice President Firdosh, MCPI(U)’s Pyarelal Sharma, and Kacchi Basti Federation’s Raghunath Singh, among others.
Outlining the decisions taken, CPI(M) City Secretary Hiralal Salvi announced that a signature campaign will be launched among the general public in Udaipur district against smart meters. Demonstrations will be held at the offices of Assistant Engineers of Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Limited (AVVNL) in various areas. A massive rally will be taken out from Town Hall Udaipur on October 27, culminating in a protest before the District Collector. Memorandums will be submitted to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajan Lal Sharma.
All leaders at the meeting appealed to all political parties, social and people’s organizations, and aware citizens to join this campaign to force the government to roll back its decision to install smart meters.
FAQs on the Smart Meter Scam Allegations
1. Why are protestors calling smart meters a “scam”?
Protestors argue that the government is applying the wrong solution to India’s power sector problems. They allege the real “cancer” is electricity theft by powerful industrialists and cronyism, which causes massive financial losses for distribution companies (discoms). Instead of addressing this core issue, the government is installing smart meters—the “malaria pill”—which ultimately forces the common public to bear the financial burden through higher and more accurate billing, punishing them for a problem they did not create.
2. How do smart meters allegedly lead to the privatization of the power sector?
The protestors claim that the government is deliberately showing public sector discoms as “loss-making” enterprises by highlighting inefficiencies and Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses. Smart meters provide precise, real-time data on these losses. This data, they argue, will then be used as a justification to sell these public assets to private corporations. Once privatized, these entities would have a free hand to increase tariffs and maximize profits, leading to higher costs for consumers with less accountability.
3. Beyond billing, what are the other major concerns protestors have with smart meters?
The allegations extend beyond just financial concerns:
Invasion of Privacy:Â Leaders have alleged that smart meters, with their ability to collect granular data on energy usage patterns, can be used to monitor citizens’ private lives, deducing when they are home, what appliances they use, and their daily routines.
Shirking Government Responsibility:Â There is a strong belief that the government is abdicating its fundamental duty to provide basic utilities like electricity, water, and healthcare as affordable public goods. By making electricity more expensive and commercialized, it is being treated as a luxury commodity rather than an essential right.
Political Betrayal:Â The protests also highlight a sense of betrayal, where even parties whose supporters oppose smart meters are accused of approving them when in power, suggesting a consensus among elites against the interests of the common public.