Congress-led UDF, BJP slam LDF govt over power tariff hike in Kerala

The Congress-led UDF opposition and the BJP slammed the LDF government over the 6.6 per cent hike in power tariffs, as announced by the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission a day ago, saying that it was a huge financial blow to the public which was already facing rising fuel and commodity prices.

Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state assembly V D Satheesan, speaking to reporters in Kochi, said the power tariff hike comes a month after the state government had increased bus, auto and taxi fares.

He said the debts incurred by the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB) were allegedly due to corruption in its various projects as well as its mismanagement and this financial burden was now being transferred on to the shoulders of the general public.

Satheesan said that instead of the state government controlling or avoiding its unnecessary and extravagant expenses, it was for no reason imposing a huge financial burden on the common man.

BJP state president K Surendran also indicated a similar stand as that of the LoP on the issue.

Speaking to reporters in Alappuzha, Surendran said the tariff hike was huge and a major blow to the public, especially when the state had recently increased bus, auto and taxi fares.

He alleged that the state government was not people friendly as Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was ''buying a new black car every month'' while imposing such financial burdens on the common man.

When Satheesan's view was sought on the CM buying a new car, he alleged that there appeared to be no control over the state government's expenditures.

He claimed that the state was not generating sufficient revenue as it has failed in tax collection and soon it would exhaust the GST compensation and other funds received from the Centre, leading to a situation where it would not be able to pay salaries to the government employees.

Satheesan also questioned why the government was engaging in extravagant expenditures when the state Finance Minister was saying that there may not be sufficient funds to pay salaries.

He alleged that the finance department which has the duty to control expenditure has no role now and has become inactive.

Meanwhile, CPI(M) state secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan said salaries would be paid on time as this government has never delayed the same.

He said that in many states salaries were paid after several months, but that has never happened in Kerala.

The statement came in response to queries by reporters at a press conference held by him in Thiruvananthapuram to announce the issues discussed in a CPI(M) state secretariat meeting.

Revising the power tariff after three years, the Kerala State Electricity Regulatory Commission, however, on Saturday had said there would be no increase in tariff for the weaker sections, agricultural consumers, small scale industries and small farmers.

State Electricity Minister K Krishnankutty had said the commission revised the power tariff without incurring huge liabilities to the people.

''The last increase in electricity tariff was on July 8, 2019. Since then, the wholesale price index has risen by 19 per cent in the last three years, while electricity tariffs have increased by only 6.6 per cent,'' the minister said in a statement.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)