Even as Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) has claimed that it is ensuring uninterrupted 8-hour electricity supply to farmers daily for paddy sowing and Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh has said that the power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed by the erstwhile SAD-BJP government were already under review, AAP as well as Congress MLA Navjot Singh Sidhu continued targeting the Government on the issue.
Captain Amarinder Singh has said that his government would soon announce its legal strategy to counter the PPAs, which had put an atrociously unnecessary financial burden on the state. He said that a carefully charted legal course of action was being formulated to save Punjab from further financial losses due to the ill-conceived PPAs signed by the Badals during their rule. Of the 139 PPAs signed by the SAD-BJP Government, 17 were enough to cater to the state’s full power demand, he pointed out, adding that the remaining 122 for 1314 MWs of expensive power were inexplicably signed, putting the unnecessary financial burden on the state.
Attacking the Punjab government, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has demanded immediate cancellation of the power pacts and said that the Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh woke up from slumber after a massive protest at his Siswan farmhouse by the AAP on Saturday, to raise the issue of power outages and problems faced by the people of Punjab. In a statement, AAP’s state president and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann said that after waking up from his four and a half years of sleep, Captain Amarinder Singh was now citing these power deals as the biggest reason for power shortage. However, after the formation of the government till now they were trying to save the Badals by keeping silent on it, he added.
Former Punjab minister Navjot Singh Sidhu continued his tweets over the issue on Sunday also. He tweeted, “Let us start with Congress High Command’s Pro-People 18 Point Agenda and get rid of the faulty un-negotiable Badal-signed Power Purchase Agreements through “New Legislation in Punjab Vidhan Sabha” fixing rates as per National Power Exchange with No fixed charges!”
He further said, “Punjab already provides 9000 Crore Subsidy but we must do more for Domestic & Industrial consumer giving power at Rs 3-5 per unit instead of surcharge inflated Rs 10-12 per unit, along with 24-hour supply with No Power-Cuts & Free Power (Upto 300 Units). It is achievable.”