Chandigarh, October 31, 2019 (Yes Punjab News)
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today condemned the Congress government for affecting the seventeenth increase in power tariff in the last three years and demanded that the government reduce tariff rates immediately in keeping with the promises made to the people of the State.
In a statement here, former minister Maheshinder Singh Grewal said it was shocking that the Punjab government had given the go ahead for a tariff hike with retrospective effect from April this year. “This will put a further burden on the common man who is already burdened by repeated hikes which have increased power tariff by more than 30 per cent in Punjab since the Congress government took over the reins of the State”.
Mr Grewal said the Congress government had shown its true colours post by elections to four constituencies in the State. He said the situation was such that power tariff in Punjab was now among the highest in the country.
“Every section of society is affected be it the common man, industry or scheduled case and backward caste consumers”, he said adding this was coupled with serving of inflated bills to the poor and levying of fixed charges whether anyone consumed power or not.
The Akali leader said the industrial sector was also badly affected and Punjab was not getting new investment due to exorbitant tariff hikes in the industrial sector. He said chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh had promised power at landing cost of Rs five per unit but the sector was now getting power at the rate of more than Rs eight per unit.
Mr Grewal said even the under privileged sections of society were not being spared by the Congress government. He said the government had effectively taken back the free power facility to the tune of Rs 1,000 crore extended to Backward Classes and Scheduled Castes by S Parkash Singh Badal.
He said the Congress government had withdrawn the 200 units being supplied free of cost tothe BC consumers during SAD-BJP tenure. “It has also put a condition on the 200 units per month being supplied free to SC consumers stating that if more than 3,000 units are consumed by an SC consumer in one year they will have to pay the full bill.
These consumers are also being presented inflated bills of as much as Rs 2 lakh”, he said while demanding that the entire amount denied to SC and BC consumers be refunded to them and the inflated bills be withdrawn.
