Punjab Oppn picks holes in power tariff cut

Ludhiana/Chandigarh, Nov 2

Opposition parties today rejected the announcement made by Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi to provide Rs 3 per unit cheaper electricity to the people of the state. While the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) termed the move a poll stunt, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) described it as betrayal of people, saying the government neither reduced the fixed charges nor took any action against the power mafia.

SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said sops of cheap power and hike in dearness allowance (DA) to government employees were on the lines of promises made by the party at the time of the last elections which were never fulfilled.

“Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is indulging in political stunts. Even Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Navjot Singh Sidhu has exposed his own government by commenting that sops were being given only for two months to fool the voters,” he said.

Sukhbir said the Chief Minister had failed to tell how he would make good on his promise when mismanagement had virtually bankrupted Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL). He said the state government owed PSPCL farm subsidy of Rs 4,500 crore and its departments owed Rs 2,231 crore. “If you take all subsidies into account, including Rs 3,300 crore due to the latest announcement and bills that have been waived, the subsidy bill will come to Rs 13,934 crore”, he said.

Speaking about the government’s intentions to bring in resolutions to cancel the power purchase agreements (PPAs) with private thermal plants, he said in case the government intended to do this it should come out with an executive order instead of mere resolutions which would achieve nothing. “The government should take into account the penalty of around Rs 10,000 crore which it would have to pay as well as the challenge of acquiring 4,000 MW at same or cheaper rates,” he said.

The SAD president ridiculed the Channi government’s announcement on hike in DA while adding that the Congress government did not release a single DA installment to employees in the last four and a half years. He said arrears of Rs 5,000 crore of DA installments ought to be cleared first before making any further announcements.

Meanwhile, AAP MLA Aman Arora said the government neither had taken any action against the power mafia nor resolved the issue of procuring cheap coal. He said the Congress government was increasing the subsidy on electricity but not plugging the loopholes. Due to this, the debt burden on PSPCL had increased to Rs 34,000 crore, he said. — TNS

No roadmap

The state government does not have any roadmap to meet the financial requirements of PSPCL or other commitments. Sukhbir Singh Badal, SAD

Move misleading

The government has reduced only Rs2 per 100 units and after 100 units this benefit will be further reduced to Rs1 only. Aman Arora, AAP