Condemning the Congress-led Punjab Government for affecting the seventeenth increase in power tariff in the last three years, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) on Thursday demanded that the Government reduce tariff rates immediately in keeping with the promises made to the people of the State.
“It is 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 percent in Punjab since the Congress Government took over,” said former minister Maheshinder Singh Grewal.
Grewal said that the Congress Government had shown its true colours post by-elections to four constituencies in the State. “The situation is such that power tariff in Punjab is now among the highest in the country,” he said.
Maintaining that every section of society is affected, Grewal said that this was coupled with serving of “inflated bills” to the poor and levying of fixed charges whether anyone consumed power or not.
“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 the former Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal. The Congress government had withdrawn 200 units being supplied free of cost to the BC consumers during SAD-BJP tenure.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 in a year, they will have to pay the full bill,” pointed Grewal adding that these consumers are also being presented inflated bills of as much as Rs two lakh.
SAD leader demanded that the entire amount denied to SC and BC consumers be refunded to them and the inflated bills be withdrawn.