BJP forces Punjab to roll back power tariff hike

The Punjab government decided on Thursday to roll back the hiked power tariff and reimburse the excess amount already paid by the consumer since September 2009.

The Punjab government decided on Thursday to roll back the hiked power tariff and reimburse the excess amount already paid by the consumer since September 2009.

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The decision followed weeklong discussions between the ruling alliance partners, the Shiromoni Akali Dal and the BJP, who had been opposing the tariff hike ever since it was implemented.

While the domestic consumer will get the relief from April 1, 2009, to March 31, 2010, commercial and industrial consumers will get reimbursed in six months. The move will cost the exchequer Rs 759 crore.

A state government spokesperson said the rollback had been announced in view of the economic slowdown the country had been passing through for the past one year now.

Punjab state BJP president Prof. Rajinder Bhandari welcomed the decision, saying his party felt it was a right step to give relief to the common man.