Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram   

Power subsidy: UDF plans stir

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The United Democratic Front (UDF) on Friday indicated that it would run a campaign against the State government’s decision not to continue the 20 paise subsidy for domestic power consumers.

In a statement, UDF convener P.P. Thankachan warned the government of an agitation against the move to cut subsidy and retain the earlier power tariff for this category. He said the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government’s decision was unjustified as the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) had shown a profit of Rs. 217 crore for the current year. Even if the Rs. 142 crore subsidy component was accounted for, the KSEB would have a profit of Rs. 75 crore.

He said the KSEB had got a higher yield of Rs. 533 crore from sale of power when compared to the previous year.

The reservoirs were full owing to the good rain. The KSEB was yet to mobilise crores of rupees as arrears from large industries, while the agriculture and irrigation department had not transferred the amounts it had collected as power tariff from the people. In this context, the decision to discontinue the subsidy was inexplicable.

Mr. Thankachan said the Chief Minister and the Electricity Minister had assured the Assembly that power tariff would not be hiked under any circumstances. The Government had retracted from its commitment made in the Assembly, he said. The UDF Government had extended Rs. 1,892 crores as subsidy to the KSEB to enable it to cover its losses under several heads. All previous governments had subsidised the KSEB whenever it had to suffer losses in order to spare the people.

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