Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya has raised questions on increasing electricity rates in the state. He said that after the completion of voting in Uttarakhand for the Lok Sabha elections, the Dhami government gave a big blow to the public on the inflation front. After emptying the treasury, the government is now cracking the whip on the public by making recovery. Leader of Opposition Yashpal Arya said that the BJP government is busy picking the pockets of the common people. Electricity prices in the state have increased by about seven percent, which will have a direct impact on 22 lakh consumers of the state. Not only this, the government has also increased the fixed charge on consumers, which means they have been hit double. The big question is whether the increased electricity rates in the state will be implemented from April 1 this month itself. In such a situation, the question is that if the increase in electricity prices has been implemented from April 1, then why was it not announced before April 1. The Leader of Opposition said that after the approval of the Commission, the electricity bill of domestic consumers has been increased from Rs 3.40 to Rs 7.35 per unit. Apart from this, Rs 3.40 per unit for spending up to 100 units and Rs 7.35 per unit for spending more than 400 units and the fixed charge has also been increased from Rs 70 to Rs 85 per month.
The common man is already suffering from the onslaught of inflation, while the huge increase in electricity bills is bound to disturb the budget of households. He said that Uttarakhand is providing electricity to other states at cheap prices, but in its own state the double engine government is providing the most expensive electricity to the consumers. The people of the state no longer want such development of a double engine government, due to which the government works day and night to rob the public’s pockets. On one hand, due to decreasing income and demand, the productivity rate of the country is continuously going down, while on the other hand, electricity rates in the state are going up. Businessmen and people are all suffering. Investors will be further away due to increase in electricity rates in Uttarakhand. The government should first ensure quality supply of electricity. The government should immediately reconsider its decision to increase electricity rates.
Otherwise we will reverse the increase in electricity rates.
State Congress President Karan Mahara wrote a letter to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami demanding withdrawal of the increase in electricity rates. Also warned that if this decision is not immediately reversed in public interest, Congress will take to the streets and protest. In the letter, Karan Mahara said that the government increased the electricity rates as soon as the voting for the Lok Sabha elections took place in the state. This has increased difficulties for the poor, farmers and general public. The BJP government, which promised to provide relief to the people during the Lok Sabha election campaign, has started putting the burden of inflation on the people after the voting.
