‘Haryana govt did not set up any power plant in last 8 years’: Cong blames BJP-JJP for electricity crisis
Saying that “digging a well makes little sense when the house is on fire”, senior Congress leader and the party’s national General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala accused the BJP-JJP government in Haryana for creating the ongoing power crisis in the state.
“This government did not set up a single power plant in the last eight years and demolished four functional power plants at Panipat. While the people are facing an unprecedented electricity crisis in the state, the Chief Minister’s announcement of a new power plant at Yamunanagar sounds like digging a well when the house is on fire,” Surjewala said.
Saying that the state government failed to respond to the crisis despite several calls by the Congress, Surjewala added: “In sheer arrogance, it kept claiming that everything would be fine and there was nothing to worry about. However, today, the same Chief Minister has somehow admitted that the power crisis will not be fixed for at least the coming two weeks. It is a matter of deep concern that the Chief Minister does not have any clear confirmation and is only hoping that the power problem in Haryana will get resolved before May 15.”
Urging the government to get the non-functional power plants in the state running, the senior Congress leader said, “One unit of the 600 MW plant at Khedar (Hisar) has not been running for the last 19 months, while another unit of the 660 MW plant at Jhajjar has remained shut for almost 7-8 months. The government, which is intoxicated by power, has been sleeping all this while.”
Asking Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar to explain the delay, Surjewala said that the Yamunanagar power plant should have been commissioned five years back as the Congress government had completed all the processes for setting up two new power plants in Yamunanagar and Panipat well before 2014.
Surjewala, who is a former state power minister, added: “Presently, Haryana is said to be short of more than 1.62 crore units of electricity, which appears to be only the half-truth. People have been dealing with power cuts for 12-13 hours a day. The mismanagement and maladministration of the Khattar-Chautala government is responsible for the people’s sufferings.”
The Congress leader further said, “Today, the stock of coal at the thermal plants of the state is very low, which may create a bigger power crisis in the state.” “The Khattar government should explain as to why there is only coal stock worth 7-8 days left at the Yamunanagar and Panipat thermal plants and what is the government doing to restore the supply. Why did the government not pay attention to our repeated appeals with regard to electricity?
He added: “The government should also explain as to why it was not taking the 1,424 MW of electricity from Adani Group at the due rate of Rs 2.94 per unit for the past one year as per the 2008’s Power Purchase Agreement. Despite the long term PPA on cheaper electricity, why is the Haryana government burdening people of the state by buying electricity at five to six times more expensive rates from other vendors? What is the reason for this kindness to the Adani group?”
