CHANDIGARH: It seems the Haryana government is finding ‘power’ too hot to handle. After collecting outstanding bills of Rs 22 crore from the candidates contesting the panchayat elections, the government has now hiked the electricity tariff by almost 50 per cent, despite a demand of rollback.
Some of the senior ministers have even told Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar that this move could cost them dear in the near future. For any government, power remains one of the big issues that could make or break a government. And as the Khattar government introduces the new policy, senior Congress leader and former CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda has lashed out at the BJP government. “The farmers are feeling miserable as they are not in a condition to pay their inflated electricity bills,” he said.
Though the two power distribution companies—Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (UHBVN) and The Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN)—claim to have raised the tariff by just 8 per cent, the customers and oppositions allege that along with the arrears, the bills have gone up by 50 per cent. “Some consumers have received bills which are about 45 per cent more than their previous bill. If the hike is just 8 per cent, how can the figures go up by 45 per cent?’’ questioned Kiran Choudhry, a leader of Congress Legislature Party.
Despite vehement opposition, there has been no word on rollback yet. The state power department, however, has allowed the customers to pay their bills in two or three instalments. With the state-run power distribution companies facing a total loss of Rs 29,362 crore, the government is trying to make the most of it by imposing the hike in the electricity rates.
Feeling the heat, state BJP president Subhash Barala said the government was contemplating giving relief to the consumers after receiving complaints of inflated bills from across the state. “The matter has been brought into the notice of the CM, who has sought information on this issue from the officers concerned,” he said.
Nitin Yadav, Managing Director of the DHBVN and the UHBVN, also echoed Barala’s views. He said a slight increase in power tariff of various categories for 2015-16 was announced on the order of the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) on May 7, which was applicable from April 1.
Perhaps, the BJP government took the big decision of increasing the tariffs after successfully recovering Rs 22 crore from the candidates contesting the panchayat polls. The state Assembly on September 7 passed a law that the general candidates contesting the panchayat polls should have a minimum educational qualification (Class X pass for general candidates, and Class VIII pass for women and Dalit candidates) and should not have any criminal cases against them. It also stated the candidates must clear their electricity dues to be eligible to contest the polls. This law, however, was challenged and the SC stayed the poll process.
Sources said the UHBVN recovered outstanding electricity bills from rural domestic connections, which amounted to Rs 10.92 crore. DHBVN also recovered dues of Rs 11.51 crore. However, now with a hike in the tariff, the residents in many parts of the state are protesting over this sudden increase in the bills and are demanding roll back. After taking an ambitious step to overcome the loss, the BJP government is finally realising the importance of ‘power’ politics.