Team Herald
PANJIM: Taking strong exception to Power Minister Nilesh Cabral’s statement that a hike in power tariff is inevitable, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday asserted that in fact the power tariff can be reduced and alleged that minister is turning to be another liar just like his leader Chief Minister Dr Pramod Sawant.
AAP Goa Convenor Rahul Mhambre asserted that there is no need to increase the power tariff and asked Cabral to step down as power minister if he feels a tariff hike is the only solution.
Stating that the AAP government in Delhi is providing free electricity and subsidised power to domestic consumers, he said the same can very well be done in Goa and asked Cabral to hand over charge of the Electricity Department to AAP for a few months to initiate this.
“Even after Goa having one of the highest per capita expenditure, the electricity tariffs are shooting up very rapidly. This is nothing but organised loot of Goans. Goans have just begun to recover from the financial crises that COVID had pushed us into. Unfortunately, instead of the government trying to ease things for Goans it is only burdening them with more such decisions,” he claimed.
“We had even earlier stated that within 48 hours of forming the Government in Goa, the AAP will provide free electricity to those consuming up to 200 units of power per month and provide 50 per cent subsidy to those consuming 201 to 400 units of power per month,” he said.
Mhambre said they were willing to do this after the next assembly elections when Goans would elect AAP to power.
“However, if Cabral is willing we can start it right now provided he resigns and hands over the charge of the power department to us,” he said.
