Scrap MoUs inked by SAD-BJP govt with private power firms: Cheema
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Tuesday urged the Punjab government to immediately scrap memorandum of understandings (MoUs) inked by the previous SAD-BJP government with private power companies to bail out the electricity consumers from paying high power rates.
AAP MLAs led by leader of opposition Harpal Singh Cheema alleged that the MoUs signed by the Badal government were costing the state exchequer ₹70,000 crore annually. “As the state has its own resources and infrastructure to generate enough power, power consumers are being made to pay more for electricity because of these projects,” Cheema and Sunam MLA Aman Arora told reporters at a press conference here.
Arora said the power purchase agreements were “broadly anti-people and anti-Punjab” because the government had to pay fixed cost running into crores of rupees to private firms even if their thermal plants did not generate a single unit.
Cheema and Arora said that chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar had, in the run up to the state elections, promised to scrap the agreements but they did nothing after assuming power.
MLAs Budh Ram, Sarabjit Kaur Manuke, Kultar Singh Sandhwan, Jai Kishan Rori, Manjit Singh Bilaspur, Amarjit Sandoa, Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer and Rupinder Kaur Ruby were among those present.