Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann & Co in Delhi to fix free power formula
‘Good news soon’: Mann after meeting Kejriwal
The state leadership of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been in the national capital for the past two days, working out the formula for implementation of its promised 300 units of free power to consumers in Punjab.
The development has Opposition parties train their guns on the Bhagwant Mann government, with all of them objecting to a meeting between top officials with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal yesterday. The officials, including Chief Secretary Anirudh Tewari, Power Secretaty Dilip Kumar and PSPCL CMD Baldev Singh Sran, who were purportedly in the meeting, refused to make any comment.
On Monday, top state officials held talks with AAP chief
Rs12,000 CRORE per annum the current power subsidy bill
73.39 LAKH power consumers in state
Rs16,500 CRORE additional subsidy bill, if 300 units of free power extended
Politics aside, sources in the party said an informal meeting did take place yesterday in Delhi, where the state of finances of the government as well as Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) was discussed, as was the possible formula for the rollout of free power scheme. Today, Kejriwal held a nearly two-and-a-half-our meeting with Mann.
After the meeting, Mann took to social media to say he had a “successful meeting” with Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal. Very soon I will announce good news for Punjab”. Sources say the issue is likely to be discussed in the meeting of the council of ministers on Wednesday.
Meanwhile, the state is staring at power crisis in the wake of the nationwide shortage of coal. Of the four thermal power units, two of GvK plant at Goindwal Sahib have shut down because of the coal shortage. PSPCL officials said while a unit at Talwandi Sabo Power Ltd, Mansa, has been shut because of a technical snag, another unit of Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant, Ropar, is closed for annual maintenance. The power generation has therefore come down by 1,410 MW. PSPCL officials have met the Ministry of Coal to seek additional coal, as it readies to meet the power demand of 15,000 MW during the paddy season. Reports from various parts of the state show there have been unscheduled power cuts. The Power Secretary however, said “We are managing the stiuation.”