Power tariff hike unacceptable, BJP to CM
Jangveer Singh
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 14
The BJP core committee today conveyed to Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal that the recent hike in the power tariff for the domestic, commercial and industrial sectors was unacceptable to it.

The core committee, which met for over four hours under the chairmanship of state party president Rajinder Bhandari, also told its coalition partner that the domestic, commercial and industrial sectors in Punjab were suffering because of the huge release of agricultural connections to the farm sector which does not pay for power.

According to sources, Bhandari told the Chief Minister that the people of Punjab should not be burdened with a power hike at a time when they were ill-equipped to pay the present rates. The Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission (PSERC) had recently effected a 17.5 per cent hike in domestic power rates besides a 9.5 per cent increase in industrial power rates.

The sources say though the BJP line on not burdening the domestic consumers, who the party feels are getting a sore deal vis-a-vis the agricultural sector, is well known, it is for the first time that the party has raised the issue of “suffering” due to the huge release of tubewell power connections in the past two years.

The sources said senior Minister Manoranjan Kalia, who was entrusted with the task of collecting the data on the issue, laid the same before the committee. According to the data while only 11,058 tubewell connections had been released in 2007-08, the figure rose to 50,803 in 2008-09 and was over 60,000 in the current financial year. The data revealed that power to the agricultural sector had increased by 52 million units (mu) in 2007-08 to 283 mu in 2008-09 and to 333 mu in the current year.

In direct contrast the data revealed that the industrial sector had got 350 mu less of power this year as compared to earlier figures. Similarly, it showed that the domestic and commercial sectors had to face cuts due to the increasing load of the agricultural sector. The core committee has demanded a solution to this “crisis”.

Manoranjan Kalia, when questioned on the likely solution to the request, said it was for the government to find a solution. He likewise said no time frame had been given to the Chief Mminister “as of now”, adding the “ball is in the CM’s court”.

Earlier on Friday, while the SAD was in an idea exchange mode in Shimla, the BJP legislative group met to discuss the power hike and its implications on domestic consumers, many of whom are considered to be its voters. The legislators had also urged that the SAD should be asked to give relief to domestic as well as industrial consumers immediately.