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Tuesday, Dec 04, 2007
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Centre’s policies to blame for energy crisis: Mayawati

Special Correspondent

LUCKNOW: Chief Minister Mayawati has attributed the power woes of the State to the UPA government’s “discriminatory” policies.

This issue figured prominently in the Cabinet meeting presided over by Ms. Mayawati on Monday. The State government’s reaction comes a day after Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi blamed the present dispensation for UP’s power woes at a function in Amethi on Sunday, especially for the industries.

While the Cabinet expressed satisfaction at the steps taken by the present government to increase power generation, it expressed regret at the Centre’s failure to extend the desired assistance to Uttar Pradesh. The Cabinet noted that Centre’s non-cooperation was one of the major reasons for the power crisis in the State.

In fact, the Cabinet was unequivocal that despite the Centre’s non-cooperation, 24-hour assured power supply was being given to industrial units and there had been no change in the schedule of the 24-hour power being supplied to Rae Bareli (represented by UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi) and Jagdishpur industrial area (in Amethi parliamentary constituency).

Cabinet Secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh, who briefed the Press on the outcome of the meeting, said Uttar Pradesh had been denied the benefits of the 4,000 megawatt ultra-mega power projects promoted by the Union government.

He said eight ultra power projects were cleared by the Centre for States endowed with coal mines and UP did not figure in the list. Stressing the need of ultra power projects, the Cabinet Secretary said States with these power stations were entitled to 50 to 60 per cent share of the electricity generated whereas U.P. was getting only 35 per cent power from the National Thermal Power Corporation’s Rihand power project in the State.

Ms. Mayawati has also taken up the issue of her State not getting its full quota of electricity allotted to it from the Central pool. U.P. was entitled to 4,200 MW from the Central sector but is getting on an average around 3,000 MW.

As a result, the State government had to purchase electricity from the Grid at the rate of Rs.6 a unit, the Cabinet Secretary said. This was in contrast to the normal rate of Rs.2.18 to Rs.2.50 a unit.

Ms. Mayawati has sent another letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh stating that U.P. should get its due.

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