Fix state’s power tariff issue, Sonia tells Capt

Aditi Tandon

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, January 20

Congress president Sonia Gandhi today asked Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh to fix concerns arising from enhanced power tariff in the state and find solutions to the problem.

Sonia also asked the Chief Minister to ensure that the people of the state were educated about the “dangers” of Citizenship Amendment Act, mainly when seen in conjunction with the National Register of Citizens and National Population Register. Punjab has already passed a resolution against the CAA in the state Assembly.

At the meeting, which Capt Amarinder sought with her today, Sonia is learnt to have enquired about steps being taken by the state to address the recent increase in electricity rates.

The Chief Minister is reported to have assured her of action on this front after consternation in public and within the state Congress over revised rates.

Sonia, meanwhile, also appointed a manifesto implementation committee for Punjab, naming former Finance Minister P Chidambaram as chairman. Haryana Congress chief Kumari Selja, Capt Amarinder, PPCC chief Sunil Jakhar and AICC incharge Punjab Asha Kumari will be members of the panel.

The Congress chief plans to take regular feedback on the status of manifesto implementation by the party-led state governments.

The Punjab Government would be completing its third year in March. Ahead of that, power tariff hike by the state government last December has resulted in what party leaders see as “avoidable burden on people”.

Additional electricity duties levied under the revised scheme mean Punjab’s domestic consumers would need to pay Rs8.37 a unit as electricity charge and industrial consumers anywhere between Rs7.05 and Rs7.85 a unit.

Jakhar has been flagging the hike for days and has sought an audit of “faulty power purchase agreements benefitting private players”. Jakhar had, on the eve of the 2017 state poll, promised to review the agreements and pass on the benefit to consumers.

The government, however, recently lost a case to private thermal plants, following which the new tariff rates were announced to meet additional revenue requirements of state’s thermal plants.

The issue of power tariff came up at the meeting Sonia had with Capt Amarinder, Jakhar and Asha Kumari. Later, Capt Amarinder met the Congress chief one-on-one, with sources saying that the Chief Minister flagged the recent public attacks against him by Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa. The Cabinet ministers recently sought disciplinary action against Bajwa for openly attacking his own government in Punjab.

“The matter about Bajwa came up in discussions between the CM and the Congress president,” sources said today, adding there was no discussion on Cabinet reshuffle.

CM meets NHAI chief over e-way project

Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) chairman Sukhbir Singh Sandhu on Monday agreed to expeditiously start work on the Delhi-Amritsar-Katra expressway project. The acquisition of land for the Rs30,000-crore project, of which Rs10,000 crore will be spent by the NHAI on the 300-km stretch in Punjab, will commence soon, a spokesperson said.