Chandigarh, June 28
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) state president and MP Bhagwant Mann said that the faulty power purchase agreements (PPAs) architected during the previous Badal government must be reviewed and scrapped as they were financially drowning Punjab with power crisis in the state. In a statement issued from the party headquarters here on Monday, Bhagwant Mann said that as per recent details, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) had so far paid Rs 20,000 crores as fixed charges to three private thermals installed during the SAD-BJP government at Talwandi Sabo, Rajpura and Sri Goindwal Sahib and of this amount, almost Rs 5,700 crore had been paid without getting any supply, which raises questions on the Captain government.
Mann said that the recent decision of the Captain government to release Rs 500 crore to ‘power-surplus’ PSPCL, to buy electricity in need, from outside the state had further raised questions on the PPAs. “It has also come to fore that there is no provision of any penalty in the PPAs, even if the private players do not supply power throughout the peak summer and paddy season, which clearly exposes the intention, interest and personal ‘pacts’ between these private companies and the government,” he added. Mann said that the amount paid to private thermal plants without getting any supply, was a result of unbalanced PPAs intended without guarding the interests of the state.
Taking a dig, Mann further said that the wrong policies of Captain Amarinder Singh and the Badals had affected the people and they had worked in collusion to abolish the government and cooperative system in Punjab. He said that Captain Amarinder Singh, who formed the government by promising to issue white paper on power purchase agreements entered into with private power plants by Badals; had so far failed to do so. “Due to their collusion, Captain Amarinder Singh never tried to take any action regarding wrong power agreements reached during the Badal government. Instead, Captain continued the process of shutting down the government power plants in the state and procuring expensive power from the projects of corporate houses, following the footsteps of the Badals,” he added.
The AAP leader said that the farmers were being harassed by the Captain government as they were unable to get uninterrupted 8-hours power supply for paddy season which has started from June 10 and the peak power requirement of which remains consistent for over 50 to 65 days. He said that the Congress had been claiming surplus power, but had also failed to provide eight hours power supply for paddy sowing, due to which the farmers were forced to cultivate paddy using expensive diesel. Mann said that the PSPCL was paying extra money for purchasing power while also still paying full fixed charges to some units which were not functional for several months. He demanded the Captain government that the faulty power agreements must be scrapped and cases be filed against those found guilty.
Discussions
Discussions
