E-Paper
HC issues notice on PIL against rich on subsidised power list, seeks response from Haryana govt
The notice was issued by the bench of justices Ajay Kumar Mittal and AS Grewal for March 16 on the PIL filed by advocate Hari Chand Arora.
The Punjab and Haryana high court (HC) on Friday sought response from the Haryana government seeking exclusion of affluent farmers from the benefits of subsidised power for agriculture pump sets. The list of alleged beneficiaries submitted in the HC includes two former chief ministers Bhupinder Singh Hooda and OP Chautala, state’s finance minister Captain Abhimanyu among others. One of the connections is alleged to have been issued in the name of late chief minister Bansi Lal.
The notice was issued by the bench of justices Ajay Kumar Mittal and AS Grewal for March 16 on the PIL filed by advocate Hari Chand Arora.
It was stated that tariff charged for metered connections to farm pump sets is 10 paisa per unit, and Rs 15 per horse power for unmetered connections, whereas for domestic consumers, the tariff is from Rs 2.7 to Rs 7.1 per unit. The court was told that the subsidy is being used by even those who are affluent, hence measures need to be taken to withdraw it.
The petitioner had also told the court that in 2017, the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission had asked power utilities to request farm power consumers, whose annual income, other than agricultural income, is in excess of Rs 20 lakh, to voluntarily give up electricity subsidy for tubewells.
