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Hike in electricity tariff criticised

By Our Staff Correspondent

BHOPAL, DEC. 14. The Jan Sangharsh Morcha (JSM) and Nimad Malwa Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan (NMKMS) have severely criticized the new tariff order announced by the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission (MPERC) last Sunday.

Holding the Asian Development Bank and the British Government responsible for the power crisis in Madhya Pradesh, the JSM and NMKMS have alleged that now they have trained their guns on small and marginal farmers and poor domestic consumers of Madhya Pradesh.

They have alleged that the State and Central Governments have become agents of the corporate privatization agenda of the Asian Development Bank-World Bank combine and the British Government. MPERC's latest tariff order will now result in 75 per cent of farmers in the State and 95 per cent of domestic consumers facing imminent disconnection of electricity as they would not be in a position to pay their electricity bills.

The Jan Sangharsh Morcha and the Nimad Malwa Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan have also asked the Central and State Governments and the people of Madhya Pradesh to immediately scrap the Electricity Reforms Act 2001, dismantle the MPERC, set up a democratic and politically accountable body to take decisions about the power sector, and stop the anti-people and anti-farmer privatization process.

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