Charges traded at JERC public hearing in Chandigarh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 21

A high political drama prevailed during the public hearing organised by the Joint Regulatory Electricity Commission (JERC) to seek suggestions from stakeholders on the revision of the power tariff today.

During the public hearing, allegations and counter-allegations started flying from the BJP and the Congress-AAP.

Will not let electricity rates increase: AAP

The local unit of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) stated that if the BJP forcibly increased the electricity rates through the UT Administration, the party workers would come out on the streets to oppose it. It added that the Administration would be forced to roll back the rates. SS Ahluwalia, Punjab Water Supply and Sewerage Board chairman and co-incharge of city AAP, said the BJP was putting an additional burden on city residents through the Administration. He said the price of water increased, and now the price of electricity was being increased.

It all started when a Congress leader stood up and demanded that a provision be made to provide 300 units of free electricity to economically backward residents of the city. Objecting to the demand, BJP leaders stated that if the AAP-Congress could not fulfil their poll promises, why had they made unrealistic poll promises? When both parties were levelling allegations against each other, the presiding officer concluded the hearing abruptly and left.

In a post on X (formerly known as Twitter), Manish Tewari stated: “Some constitutionally challenged eminences of the BJP tried to create an unnecessary brouhaha about my alleged absence from the JERC public hearing to deflect attention from the vital question of a 19 percent arbitrary tariff hike in electricity rates.”

He added, “I have deliberately refrained from attending any official meeting till I formally take the oath of office.”

He also said, “I ask, how many JERC hearings did Kirron Kher attend in 10 years? It is not imperative for MPs to do so. They can always file their objections in writing. In any case, our institutional view on the arbitrary tariff hike was represented by our colleagues from the Congress and AAP.”

Tiwari said the Engineering Department falls within the purview of the Chandigarh Administration, which is run by the Ministry of Home Affairs. If they are so concerned, they can demand that their government simply withdraw the power hike proposal.

On the other hand, BJP councillor Maheshinder Singh Sidhu said Tewari tried to deflect from the issue by giving constitutional lectures again. He said, “Being an MP elect does not preclude him from attending the JERC session. As per him, he had attended the MC meeting recently unofficially, and therefore he could have very well done the same today also.”

He said, “Tewari had appealed to everyone to participate in this hearing; however, he was absent. If Tewari was so concerned about the residents of the city, he should have attended today’s meeting. Even the representatives of the Congress and the AAP party merely made political statements, which led to disruption in the proceedings, forcing the end of the hearing. The mayor didn’t even feel like attending the session. The Congress and AAP deliberately spoiled the atmosphere with political statements with the sole intention of scuttling the proceedings and thereafter resorting to shifting blame upon the Central Government.”

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