With an eye on the upcoming Assembly elections in the State, due early next year, the Punjab Cabinet on Monday decided to reduce power tariff for domestic consumers by ₹3 per unit.
An official statement said that the annual financial burden on the State government would be approximately ₹3,316 crore due to the tariff rationalisation. The government will reduce the power procurement cost and it will be passed on to the consumers, it said.
The decision, which was taken at a meeting chaired by Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi,would benefit 69 lakh domestic consumers across the State.
The Cabinet also announced increase in the Dearness Allowance (DA) of government employees by 11%, from the existing 17% to 28%, effective from July 1, 2021.
Mr. Channi told reporters that his government was committed to give the highest priority to the employees and their welfare.
“With this decision, the State government would have to bear an additional monthly burden of ₹440 crore on account of enhanced DA. We have resolved most of employees’ issues to their satisfaction and hence they have called off their strike and resumed work with immediate effect,” he said, adding that the employees’ who were recruited after January 1, 2016, would also be given the benefit of minimum 15% increase in the revised pay at par with other employees.
The Opposition was quick to hit out at the ruling Congress, accusing it of befooling the people of State.
‘Cong. hiked tariff’
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader Daljit Singh Cheema said Mr. Channi was resorting to an ‘election stunt’.
“People should judge the Congress party by its past actions. The party had promised cheap power before ascending to power in 2017. However, during the last nearly five years it increased the power tariff by 35%,” said Mr. Cheema.
BJP's Punjab State secretary Subhash Sharma termed the tariff decision as a ‘political stunt’.
