By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 1 Mar: Pradesh Congress Committee Chief Karan Mahra today demanded immediate withdrawal of the proposed hike in the power tariff in the state. In a letter written to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Mahra observed that the proposed rates of electricity in the state were among the highest in the country. While demanding immediate withdrawal of the proposed electricity rates, he claimed that the decision to increase the electricity rates taken by the state government does not appear to be justified in the public interest. The state government’s decision of proposed increase in electricity rates will increase the burden of the general public, which is already reeling from high inflation. Observing that, despite being a power generating state, the power tariff in Uttarakhand was already much higher than in many other states, Mahra said that due to the neglectful policies of the Central Government, the poor and the common man are already bearing the brunt of inflation. In the past one year period, there has been manifold increase in the prices of essentials. Both the state government and the Centre have failed badly to control the spiralling prices of essential commodities. After the continuous rising prices of cooking gas, petroleum products and food items, the state government is now trying to burden the people additionally by increasing the power tariff. He said that, on the one hand, the state government has decided to increase power tariff, and on the other hand, Gujarat Base Alps Company and Shravanthi Company have been paid crores of rupees without producing electricity, which is beyond understanding. Due to the skyrocketing prices of cooking gas, petroleum products and food items, the common person is already struggling to meet ends and, in such a situation, the decision of the state government to increase the electricity rates in the state of Uttarakhand is against the interests of the general public.
Karan Mahra demanded that Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami hold back the decision to hike the power tariff in larger public interest.
