The Delhi Congress, on Monday, questioned the Aam Aadmi Party-led Government’s silence on an impending hike in power tariffs recommended by a competent committee.
The party’s chief spokesperson, Sharmishta Mukherjee, said ramifications of the hike were likely to propel power consumption beyond the means of the average Delhiite.
“We find more than strange the fact that the Government has not challenged the order of the Appellate Tribunal on Electricity in the Supreme Court to increase the power tariff to compensate for the perceived losses suffered by the discoms,” said Ms. Mukherjee.
Before the Assembly elections, Ms. Mukherjee said, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had said that discoms had fudged their balance sheets by showing losses, and on the basis of the same manipulated balance sheets, the power companies approached the Appellate Tribunal seeking an increase in power tariffs.
“In 2013, he had harped on the fact that the three discoms made a profit of over Rs.3000 crore per annum, and they are hand-in-glove with the Government. Why is Mr. Kejriwal going soft on them now without challenging the order of the Appellate Tribunal?” she asked.
