The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : `Free power scheme more responsive'

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Sep 13, 2004

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

`Free power scheme more responsive'

By Our Staff Reporter

HYDERABAD, SEPT. 12. The Congress has drawn parallels between punishment of consumers for power theft in the previous TDP Government and the free power regime for the agricultural sector and single bulb connections now to counter the Opposition claim that the Congress Government had diluted its pre-poll promise.

The Government Chief Whip, N. Kiran Kumar Reddy, and three Congress MLAs, D. Sridhar, E. Pratap Reddy and D. Sambaiah, told reporters on Sunday that the TDP Government had booked 2.50 lakh cases of power theft, arrested 5,914 persons and recovered Rs. 127.66 crore towards the regular tariff and penal charges during 2000-04. In addition, a compounding fee of Rs. 35.40 crore was also collected from 1.94 lakh defaulters.

On the other hand, the Congress Government has extended free power to 37.27 lakh beneficiaries belonging to the farm sector and single bulb households. The benefits were cornered by 24.5 per cent of the total consumers. The difference between the two Governments in the matter of user-friendliness in the power sector could be seen from each other's performance.

They said the TDP and the BJP do not have the moral right to criticise the Government on the power front. The TDP Government had booked thousands of cases during the anti-power tariff hike agitation three years ago.

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Andhra Pradesh