Delhi govt alleges ploy to stop subsidies

The Delhi government accuses the Centre and the lieutenant governor of trying to halt power subsidies by appointing their own choice to head the Delhi electricity regulatory commission. The Supreme Court has deferred the oath-taking ceremony of the appointee.

The Delhi government on Tuesday alleged that the Centre and the lieutenant governor (LG) are trying to stop the power subsidies being provided to the people in the Capital by appointing a person of their choice to head the Delhi electricity regulatory commission (DERC).

Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said that the Centre and the LG want to capture this commission. (ANI)

This came hours after the Supreme Court on Tuesday deferred the oath taking ceremony of justice (retired) Umesh Kumar, who has been appointed as the DERC chairperson by the central government.

DERC fixes electricity tariffs in the Capital. “The Centre and the LG want to capture this commission. Why do they want to capture this commission? The aim is to that the 200 units of free electricity that the poor get can be stopped..,” Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said.

The LG office did not respond to requests for comment.

The tussle over the power to appoint the DERC head started when the body’s last chairperson, retired Justice Shabihul Hasnain, vacated office in January. In January, the AAP government approved the appointment of former Madhya Pradesh HC judge Rajeev Kumar Shrivastava as DERC chairperson and obtained consent from the MP HC chief justice. The LG, however, insisted on taking Delhi HC chief justice’s consent as well. The Delhi government challenged the contention in the SC. On May 19, the court ruled in the state government’s favour and ordered the DERC head’s appointment within two weeks.

The BJP did not respond to requests for a comment.