By IANS
Chandigarh : Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal Monday rolled back last month’s power tariff hike, saying the extra burden would be borne by the state government and will not be passed onto consumers.
All categories of electricity consumers, including domestic, commercial, industrial and rural ones, will benefit from the decision.
“The decision will benefit all consumers – 66 percent of whom live in rural areas and 34 percent in urban areas,” Punjab government spokesman Harcharan Bains said.
The extent of the burden on the state exchequer following the fresh decision was being calculated, Punjab government officials here said.
Badal’s sop to electricity consumers, described by the spokesman as a festive season gift, was forced by the arm-twisting of the ruling alliance partner Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The BJP was in recent weeks publicly objecting to the Akali Dal not taking it into confidence on important issues.
Faced with criticism from leaders of his own alliance partner, Badal had last week announced a seven-member coordination committee to resolve differences between the two sides.
The first meeting of the committee, in which Badal’s son and Akali Dal acting president Sukhbir Badal is a member, was held Monday and the decision on the power tariff hike was announced within hours of the BJP raising the issue at the meet.
“It has been suggested by the committee that in view of the economic hardships being faced by the predominantly agricultural rural population as well as trade, industry and business-oriented urban segment, it has become necessary to provide them relief,” Badal said in a statement.