Saying that the power tariff hike by the Territorial administration was very steep, AIADMK Puducherry unit secretary A Anbazhagan on Tuesday demanded that the administration roll back the hike or reduce it by 50 per cent.
Addressing a press conference, Anbazhagan said that the hike had added to the burden of the common people, who were reeling under the weight of inflation. He said that the government could not shy away from the responsibility just by stating that the hike was approved by the Joint Electricity Regulatory Authority (JERC), as the electricity department was under the control of the Territorial administration.
Anbazhagan said that the government expected to earn a revenue of `310 to `350 crore per annum, after the power tariff revision. However, he added that after going for a tax- free budget for the past 8 to 10 years, people should not be burdened for extra revenue. He said that any tariff revision hovering around 5 to 10 per cent was acceptable.
Anbazhagan charged the government with adopting wrong policies leading to fall in growth rate, which was less than one percent. He said that owing to maladministration people had lost their purchasing power.
Anbazhagan demanded that the welfare schemes, such as old-age and widow pension and LPG subsidy,be not linked with Direct Benefit Transfer scheme till all the intended beneficiaries had their Aadhar numbers linked with their bank accounts. He said that in Puducherry less than 45 per cent population had received Aadhar cards.