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Govt. to bear power tariff hike burden: Badal

CHANDIGARH: The Punjab BJP headquarters here was a picture of festivity on Tuesday as party leaders watched workers burst crackers, dance in frenzy and distribute sweets. They were celebrating the party’s success in pressurising Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal to announce a non-productive electricity tariff subsidy for the domestic consumers.

While senior leaders, including the BJP’s national secretary Balbir Punj, who is in charge of the party affairs in the State, some ministers and MLAs were present, the Akali Dal was conspicuous by the absence of any representative at the celebrations. The Akali leadership, smarting under the impact of this arm-twisting tactic by the BJP, has sought to dismiss the festivities as “BJP’s internal matter”.

Responding to queries related to the poor fiscal situation in the State, Mr. Punj said Punjab had a debt burden of “only Rs. 57,000 crore” as compared to Rs. 90,000 crore of Karnataka. He was highly critical that the present Akali-BJP Government had failed to appoint its chairpersons to various State-run boards and corporations. He said the State Government’s redressal mechanism during the last eight months was far below satisfactory.

A close aide of the Chief Minister disclosed that under a rapprochement formula the BJP would get “proportional representation” for the party in the appointment of chairpersons to boards and corporations, at least six districts each for posting of Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs), and a free hand in posting of bureaucrats in the departments under the BJP ministers.

Ever since the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission passed its order to increase the tariffs in September, the BJP has been in agitation mode, demanding that the hike be withdrawn or a similar concession granted earlier to the farm sector be also stopped.

In a late evening communication on Monday, Mr. Badal announced that the additional burden of the increased power tariff imposed by the PSERC would, instead of being passed on to the consumers, be borne by the State Government. The decision would add another Rs. 300 crore to the Rs. 550 crore burden on the State exchequer.

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