Even as the Opposition was agitating against the imposition of surcharge on the power tariff in Andhra Pradesh, the State Government has further added to consumers’ burden by effecting a whopping 27 per cent increase in the tariff putting an additional burden of `6,500 crore.
Evoking an angry reaction from all sections of society and all the political parties, the Andhra Pradesh State Electricity Regulatory Commission announced that the revised tariff is in effect for both the domestic and industrial consumers from Monday.
Only agriculture sector has been spared from the unprecedented hike, which has come at a time when the State was already reeling under serious power crisis and the people in the villages were going with out electricity for more than 12 hours.
While rejecting the Power Transmission Corporation’s proposals for a total hike of 45 per cent, the commission allowed around 27 per cent hike. The new burden on the people has come after the State Government has provided `5,480 crore towards the subsidy for power sector during the new financial year.
Anticipating such a shock, the Opposition parties in the State have already given a call for general strike on April 9. Even as the students organisations have also announced their support to the strike.
After the left parties and TDP, leaders of another Opposition party BJP have launched an indefinite hunger strike against the steep hike in tariff. Earlier the leaders of left parties and the TDP who had gone on indefinite hunger strike were shifted to the hospitals by the police in view of their worsening health condition.
State BJP President G Kishan Reddy, who was leading the hunger strike, said that the fight will continue till the State Government agrees to withdraw the hike. “It is because of the wrong policies of the central and the state government that the power generation plants were lying idle in the State leading to shortages”, Reddy said.
State secretary of CPI(M) BV Raghavulu said that it was for the Government to decide whether it wants to withdraw the increase in the tariff or wants to be thrown out of power.
TDP president N Chandrababu Naidu alleged that the sharp increase in power tariff was the result of massive corruption of Congress government. Naidu who has decided to sit on a day long fast at Kakinada to protest the increase, said that the people will give a befitting reply to the anti poor policies of the Congress Government.
Demanding a rollback Telangana Rashtra Samiti president K Chandrashekhar Rao announced that his party will also participate in the general strike. He gave a call to his cadre to intensify the power agitation.
YSR Congress leader B Govardhan said that the Congress had gone back on its promise of not increasing the power tariff and it had lost the moral right to remain in power.
The tariff hike was also coming under attack from with in the Congress party as leaders were afraid that such moves will trigger an anti establishment wave ahead of the next elections. “Such decisions will harm the party immensely,” warned senior party leader V Hanumantha Rao and demanded a review.
But Chief Minister N Kiran Kumar Reddy defended the policy saying that the hike will not affect more than 50% consumers who were using less than 50 units per month.
He said the power generation cost in the state has gone up to `12.50 per unit.
He promised that the State Government will come out with a new policy to lessen the burden on the people on account of power tariff hike and more subsidy will be provided.