BJP accuses govt. of putting ₹68 crore burden on Metro

Vijender Gupta says it is due to the hike in power tariff, which has gone up by 50 paise per unit

The BJP on Saturday criticised the Delhi government for allegedly financially burdening the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) by ₹68 crore per annum due to a hike in power tariff.

Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Vijender Gupta said on the one hand Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had been “chanting for free travel” for women on the Delhi Metro and public buses while on the other, they are hiking the power tariff which puts an additional financial burden of ₹68 crore per annum on the Delhi Metro.

“What a contradiction in the Kejriwal government’s policy. This additional financial burden on the Delhi Metro will have to be borne by Delhiites…with effect from August 1, 2019. The power tariffs have been raised from ₹8 to ₹8.50 per unit for the Delhi Metro and from ₹5.75 to ₹6.25 per unit for the Delhi Jal Board,” Mr. Gupta alleged, adding that a hike by 50 paise per unit for other public utilities will impact Delhiites directly.

‘Raised fixed charges’

Instead of reducing power tariff for agriculture and mushroom cultivation, the Kejriwal government had created a new category for mushroom cultivation and raised fixed charges for this category from ₹125/KW/month to ₹200/KW/month and power consumption charges by almost five times from ₹1.50 to ₹6.50 per unit thereby “discouraging” cultivation, the LoP said.

“Similarly, the power tariff for those consuming more than 1,200 units per month has also been hiked from ₹7.75 to ₹8.00 per unit. We demand that the Kejriwal government withdraw the hike in power tariff for public utilities as directly, or indirectly, it will burden Delhiites,” he added.

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