Chandigarh, May 27, 2020 (Yes Punjab News)
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Punjab has warned the Capt Amarinder Singh government, saying that the fines imposed on private and government thermal plants in the state for certain violations by the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) should not be collected from power consumers in Punjab. It said that the people of the state had already been facing the heat of expensive power due to the collusion between the successive governments and politicians and the power mafia.
In a statement issued from the party headquarters, the state unit president and MP Bhagwant Mann questioned that why should power consumers in the state pay for the hefty fines imposed on the private thermal plants by Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) for jumping the rules?
Mann informed that the Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) had slapped a whopping fine of Rs 18 lakh per unit for not installing FGD system in 13 units of two government and two private thermal plants in the state, adding that the Capt. Amarinder Singh government was all set to divert this financial burden of crores of rupees on the power consumers in Punjab, which would not be tolerated, come what may.
Bhagwant Mann said that it was a double trouble for Punjab and its people, who were already groaning under the heat of exorbitant power tariff, adding that, while on the one hand, these thermal plants were, besides polluting the air, jeopardising the lives of the people by not installing the necessary equipments to reduce the pollution levels, on the other hand due to their incompetence and arbitrariness heavy fines were imposed on them, which were being taken out of the pockets of the common consumer in the state.
Bringing Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on board, the AAP Parliamentarian said: “Do not test the patience of the distressed people of Punjab who were paying the highest rate for domestic electricity across the country. Why should they pay the price of the state-sponsored power mafia for flouting the rules and regulations by saving the cost of installing and operating the FGD system in the thermal plant for illicit profits”.
Bhagwant Mann said that the people of Punjab were paying the price for the anti-people policies and one-sided agreements of the Central and state governments in the power sector. Mann described the Union Government’s Power Amendment Bill 2020 as extremely dangerous for the state and its people, saying the people had had enough of it during the previous Badal government regime by closing down government thermal plants and inking deadly Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) with private thermal plants, nixing of which were the need of the hour, he stated.
The AAP leader demanded that the Capt. Government should convene a special session of Legislative Assembly without further avoidable loss of time to cancel the PPAs and adopt resolutions against the Central Power Reforms Bill 2020.
Mann also threatened that if the Captain government did not reverse its decision on collecting the hefty fines imposed on the power plants from the consumers’ pockets, AAP would strongly oppose the move.
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