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Goa, Delhi power ministers face off over free power: ‘Let people decide’
Speaking during a specially organised debate on Goa’s tariff structure versus Delhi’s, Delhi power minister Satyendar Jain said that the announcement of free power up to 300 units will benefit 87% of Goa’s power consumers
Delhi power minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Satyendar Jain on Monday insisted that his party’s plan for Goa, to provide free electricity up to 300 units if they come to power would be hugely beneficial to the people of the state while taking potshots at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for spending money on “buying MLAs” instead of people’s welfare.
Speaking during a specially organised debate on Goa’s tariff structure versus Delhi’s, Jain said that the announcement will benefit 87% of Goa’s power consumers.
“We are promising free electricity up to 300 units per consumer per month whether that works to ₹700- ₹800 or to ₹1,000 to ₹1,200 in Goa, it is what we are promising. You are saying you will not give it free. Let the people decide. Ultimately it is the people who will decide what is best for them,” Jain said.
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In response, Goa power minister Nilesh Cabral accused the Delhi government of “robbing Peter to pay Paul”.
“Nothing is free in this world. Whatever they are providing for the people of Delhi is taken from the taxpayers of Delhi and besides they have borrowed crores of rupees,” Cabral said. He also accused the Delhi government of subsidising power rates to benefit private discoms (distribution companies), which continued to rake in profits at the cost of the taxpayer.
“In Goa, our tariff structure is different. Here, the Goa government is itself the distributor and we have kept rates low. Our power tariff, no matter how many units one uses, doesn’t go beyond ₹4 per unit for the consumer. In Delhi, if you cross 200 hundred units, even after the subsidy from the government, the rate is higher than what is paid for the same number of units in Goa,” Cabral said.
Jain taunted the Goa government for refusing to give uninterrupted power despite being in power in the state for close to 10 years running.
“For how long you are going to keep giving excuses? The people of Goa will judge whose plan for Goa is better,” he added.
Jain came to Goa to debate with Cabral after throwing down a “challenge” over Goa’s power structure. He said that AAP’s model would involve giving the people of Goa 24*7 free power without interruptions, free electricity to farmers and free power to agriculturists as promised by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal earlier this month.
