MC proposes 60% hike in power cess
Residents are likely to shell out more for electricity. The Municipal Corporation (MC) has proposed to enhance municipal cess on power consumption by 60 per cent in order to tide over the ongoing financial crisis.
The proposal to increase the cess from 10 paise per unit to 16 paise per unit (60 per cent increase), on the lines of the electricity tax in Punjab, will be tabled for discussion and approval in the MC General House meeting scheduled for November 23.
According to the agenda, the MC had imposed municipal cess on electricity consumption within the MC limit at 10 paise per unit in 2019 (notification dated December 10, 2019) and it earns Rs 15-16 crore every year. The levy in Punjab is 2%, which comes out to be 16 paise per unit. In Haryana, it is 8 paise per unit.
The enhanced levy will increase the income of the MC on this account from Rs 15-16 crore to Rs 22-23 crore per annum.
The MC has also proposed to increase the rate of annual enhancement of ground rent for using municipal land for operating cable network in Chandigarh. A decision on the annual increase in ground rent was taken in 2018. The agenda for increasing the rate of annual enhancement in ground rent of cable operators from 10% to 20% every year will also be placed before the General House.
The Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) had approved a tariff hike of 9.4% for 2024-25 for electricity consumption in Chandigarh with effect from August 1.
The orders of the JERC had been issued while considering the tariff petition for the 2024-25 filed by the UT Power Department in which a rise at 19.44% was proposed to bridge the cumulative revenue gap. The commission has allowed the tariff increase at 9.40% only against the petition filed by the Chandigarh Administration.
UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria recently directed the Engineering Department to consider and rationalise the tariff for future. The department has been asked to consider the reduction of tariff and burden of lower income consumers.
