PANJIM: Former Power Minister and activists have criticised Chief Minister Pramod Sawant for his statement that the Tamnar Transmission project will be commissioned in October this year and for asking the people to bear the revision of power tariff.
Former Power Minister Nirmala Sawant said, “This is a lop-sided development because in the name of Tamnar, we are cutting trees and planting them in Karnataka. Karnataka, who are not even giving permission to take lines through their forest area, is benefitting but the Goa government has gone ahead and planted saplings in Karnataka. This is a further loss to us. Even vermin animals like monkeys and langurs, from the forests have now moved in the villages and are destroying agriculture. I am a victim of this as coconut yields in my plantation have dropped. It has caused scarcity of food. Government should have given more weightage to the requirement of food than this thing.”
On power tariff hike, Nirmala said, “The government should have tried to stop pilferage and theft of power and should have recovered the outstanding arrears. The government should also take measures to reduce the loss caused due to transmission and distribution of power.”
Activist Abhijit Prabhudesai said, “Unless the Tamnar project is completed, to inaugurate it is a foolish thing. It is basically nonsense because Karnataka has not given permission for it. This project can never be completed. To say that it will be inaugurated in October is a ridiculous thing and mockery of governance. Even if the government tries to bring the power lines from Maharashtra, the project will require a fresh design and it will be an expensive affair. I do not think that the project can be completed at all. Chief Minister is just fooling the people. I want to ask the chief minister to come out with a statement with regards to contract with Sterlite. What contract is there? What is Sterlite’s hold on our electricity distribution and tariffs? How will it affect the people? What are the risks to the common public through this project? Sawant should come out and tell in the open.”
On power tariff hike, Prabhudesai said, “The tariff which has been increased is nothing compared to what will happen once the Sterlite contract is taken to the next stage because the government document says that tariff will go up by 11 to 14 per cent for many years. It is just a trailer of what is going to happen in the future. They will charge everyone. The power tariff should not only be rolled back but the government should provide free power to the people as the mess has been created by them. The hike should not only be rolled back but the charges should be reduced.”
Jana Sena founder Janardhan ‘Jana’ Bhandari said, “The Bharatiya Janata Party is known for this kind of thing. Before elections they reduce prices but once the elections get over they increase them. This is known. Whenever elections have been held they have reduced fuel and LPG prices. They are masters of it. But unfortunately people conveniently forget it.”
