Representatives of the 1.85 lakh-odd micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Andhra Pradesh have sought waiver of the Rs. 250 per Kva of contracted demand and exemption from the 33 per cent local VAT charged on purchase of diesel used for power generation.
Power policy
They also wanted a power policy that included solar and windmill power generation, apart from urging Government to include MSME units in the Mahatma Gandhi National Gandhi Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS) so that they could get a marginal relief in the wages paid to workers.
They are also demanding announcement of a power policy like in Gujarat, Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu that had clearly laid-down provisions for solar and windmill power generation.
“Due to the acute power shortage, industrial units are managing only 50 per cent of capacity and our situation has turned from bad to worse with out inability to pay even workers’ salary, not to speak of bank interest on loans,” Mr. Rama Rao, president of Federation of A. P. Industries (FAPI) said, expressing the need for Government to announce a one-year moratorium. Expanding on the demands, Mr. Rahul Aggarwal said they were increasingly finding it difficult to pay the Rs. 250 fee per Kva of contracted demand and wondered why they had to, considered that not even 30 per cent of demand was being met by Government.
