Raipur, November 17
Congress on Sunday alleged that BJP government had done power purchase scam worth Rs 20,000 crore to benefit private players and dented pockets of common people by hiking power tariff. State Congress president Charandas Mahant has directly held CM Raman Singh for this eye-opening scam as he has kept energy portfolio with him.
“We were expecting complete transparency and corruption-free atmosphere in departments held by the CM, but the latest scam in energy department is a shocker for us as well as the common mass,” Mahant said.
“The scam was done in a planned manner. The government first purchased power from the private power generating units and then entered into agreement on rates, conditions, etc after one and a half year,” he said.
“More importantly, instead of making payment on the basis of rates fixed in agreement, the government paid higher rates. The government actually purchased power during normal hours and did payment of peak hours,” he told. The private players usually charge three to four times of normal rate during peak hours, i.e. from 6-11 pm.
Questioning CM Raman Singh’s credibility in wake of Rs 20,000 crore power purchase scam, Mahan asked why he did not take initiative to restart State’s closed down power generating units.
“The power tariff in power surplus State went up due to CM’s inability to handle energy department efficiently and his silent consent to corruption,” he charged.
He said due to power purchase scam the loss of Chhattisagrh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL) had increased from Rs 539 crore in 2011 to Rs 1973 crore in 2013.
“The CSPDCL was a self-reliant company but few people in the government put it in loss to inflate their finances. This has deeply affected people’s monthly budget, but the ruling party is least bothered about them,” he said.
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