NEW DELHI: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Congress termed the decision of Delhi’s power regulator to bring down fixed charges as an election gimmick and demanded that Rs 7,000 crore, collected as fixed charges and load factor. be refunded to consumers. Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said his party had been stepping up the heat on the Arvind Kejriwal government on the issue and now, it had admitted its mistake.
“Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will also have to refund Rs 7,000 crore looted from the people of Delhi by increasing fixed charge and load factor. We have been demanding it. If Kejriwal does not refund this amount before the assembly elections, BJP is prepared to go to any extent,” Tiwari said. The Delhi BJP chief said the CM is apprehensive of his defeat in the next assembly elections and is, hence, adopting such ‘tactics’ to stay in power.
“Last year, it increased the fixed charges five times without informing the consumers and afterwards, the CM said that the DERC increased the fixed charge and the load factor without consulting the government. Will the CM now say that the DERC has decreased the fixed charge and load factor without the approval of the government?” Tiwari said.
Haroon Yusuf, working president of Delhi Congress, said the reduction in the power tariff should be with retrospective effect, as the fixed charges were increased by six times last year.“Crores collected as hiked charges should either be refunded or adjusted in the power bills over the next six months. Fixed charges were hiked six times more and pension funds, at the rate of 3.8 per cent, were collected by the power distribution companies. As per the agreement between the government and discoms, the onus is on the latter to contribute to pension funds,” Yusuf said.