The Opposition Congress on Monday demanded a cut in the power tariff in the State. The State Congress spokesperson Sushil Anand Shukla said the States which do not produce any electricity have been providing relief to the farmers by cutting the tariff. However, people in Chhattisgarh have been forced pay more even if it is a power producing State, he said. He expressed surprise over why Chief Minister Raman Singh and the BJP Government have not been taking any initiatives in this regard.
Accusing the BJP Government of increasing the power tariff in the State by 60 to 100 per cent over the past one year, Shukla said the Government must slash the
tariff as it was the right of the people to get the electricity at lower rate. He alleged that people have been charged additional 15 paise per unit every quarter towards variable cost in additional to the cost of the electricity. The electricity companies have collected over Rs250 crore towards this additional cost last year. The Comptroller and Auditor General of India had objected to such charges and described it as illegal, he pointed out.
If other States are able to provide relief to the people by provide subsidy, why the Chief Minister is not doing anything in Chhattisgarh, he asked.
Citing the example of Delhi where the Government has been providing subsidy on power tariff, he said there was no reason why people should not get cheaper electricity in power surplus State of Chhattisgarh.
He said the State has not only been generating more power, but also the cost of generation was also low because power plants are located close to the coal mines.