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| Omar's promise to cut electricity duty by 12% a hoax | | No change in tariff for 2014-15: Govt tells Assembly | | Fazal Khan
SRINAGAR, Aug 31: It seems Chief Minister Omar Abdullah only believes in making announcements and forgets to implement these.
The Chief Minister during his Independence Day speech announced that electricity duty would be reduced by 12 percent. He termed it as a gift from his side to people on the occasion of the Independence Day. He had said the change in the fee structure is the jurisdiction of the State Electricity Regulatory Authority (SERA), as such, he could provide the relief to the people by way of reducing the electricity duty.
However, the State Government in the recent assembly session, which ended on Saturday made it clear that there would be no change in the power tariff in the current year.
The Government, while responding to a query whether it intends to reduce the electricity charges in the interest of the people, said, "The electricity charges are being levied as per the tariff order issued by the Jammu and Kashmir Electricity Regulatory Commission. There has been no change in tariff for the year 2014-15."
Sources told Early Times that Chief Minister, who also holds the portfolio of the Power Minister, after making the verbal announcement to cut the electricity duty from 22 percent to 10 percent has not passed any written instructions in this regard.
"When this question came up in the Legislative Assembly, reply was sent as per the present status," said an official.
Pertinently, the arbitrary hike in the power tariff during the past five and a half years of the Omar Abdullah led government has broken the back of the consumers across Jammu and Kashmir.
Consumers across the length and breadth of the state are up in arms against the Power Development Department (PDD). Inflated power bills and PDD not following any system has left the people high and dry.
A PDD official while talking to Early Times said, "Even if government passes written instructions to reduce the electricity duty by 12 percent it would hardly make a difference. During the past few years the power tariff has increased by more than 400 percent. As of now nothing has been reduced."
A senior leader of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) said the Chief Minister made so many announcements during all these years but most of them turned out to be rhetoric only. " Three years ago when increasing number of infant deaths at G B Pant hospital in Srinagar made headlines, Omar quickly announced that one more children hospital will be constructed in the city to cater to the huge rush of patients. Till date nothing has been done to set up another children hospital in Kashmir," the PDP leader said. "That announcement also proved to be a hoax."
He said, "Omar sahib making promises and then forgetting about these is nothing new. People don't complain anymore as they have realized that habits die hard."
A professor from University of Kashmir said that National Conference leaders would find it very hard to approach people to seek the votes. "Past five and a half years of Omar Abdullah led government has been a saga of broken promises. NC people have nothing to sell. The NC leaders biting dust in the recently held Parliamentary Polls was a trailer. Assembly election will spell doom for the ruling party," he added.
The professor said, "NC leaders, including the Chief Minister, should sit back and think that how many promises they have broken during their tenure." |
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