The Opposition Congress on Wednesday hit out at the Manohar lal Khatter Government in Haryana for raising power tariff and said it will force them to rollback the "anti-people" decision.
Former Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday led a protest demonstration in front of office of power utilities in Panchkula, near here, on the power tariff issue, in which many Congress leaders from the state took part.
Slamming the Manohar lal Khattar Government, the Congress leaders said that the hiked power tariff had broken the backbone of all sections of society, including farmers, and small scale industry.
Due to new tariff slab people are getting inflated bills, Hooda alleged. He claimed that while there is acute power shortage in the State and power supply is erratic in both rural and urban areas, people are getting inflated bills, in some cases over 40 per cent. Hooda sought an immediate withdrawal of hike in power tariff and warned that otherwise the Congress will intensify its agitation.
Among others who took part in the protest, included former Haryana Assembly Speaker and sitting MlA Kuldeep Sharma, MlA Karan Singh Dalal, former Minister Sampat Singh, former State unit chief Phool Chand Mullana.
Two days ago, Haryana's main opposition INlD had also held protests demanding rollback of revised power rates. Since April, the State Government has increased the basic tariff by 8% and increase in the fuel surcharge adjustment (FSA) has also led to the spike in power bills. As of now, a consumer crossing 1,000 units in two months is charged for `6.25 per unit, which includes an FSA amount of `1.27 per unit. Notably, the losses of power distribution companies in Haryana which stood at `1,360 crore in 2005, surged up to `29,362 crore in financial year 2014-15.