AP Transco statistics `bogus': CPI(M)

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, JUNE 17. The State CPI(M) secretary, Mr. B.V. Raghavulu, has described the statistics released by the Transmission Corporation of AP justifying the hike in power tariff hike as "incoherent and inconsistent" with the data provided by it and the Government on earlier occasions. He said the figures were "created or cooked up" to show less revenue accruals and more losses and thus impose a tariff hike.

Addressing presspersons here on Saturday, Mr. Raghavulu said the two annexures circulated by the AP Transco at the time of last upward revision in January last year specified the number of domestic consumers at 73 lakhs but last month, this figure was shown as 85,89,100, which implied 12 lakh new connections.

A note circulated by him titled "jugglery of words and fudged statistics", refers to the Transco-Government claim that the tariff increase did not touch those accounting for a consumption below 50 units a month, and said the Transco papers in January 1999 put the total of these consumers at 45,00,000 but now after the present hike, inflated the same to 53,39,473--an addition of 8,39,473 new connections. "This is utterly bogus", he alleged.

Likewise, the number of those consuming above 400 units a month was shown as 1 lakh in January 1999 and 73,353 in May, 2000, indicating a decrease of 26,647. Could this happen?, he asked. Those coming under 300-400 units bracket numbered two lakhs previously and 95,526 now, again a fall of 1,04,474. A consumption reduction in this category was most unrealistic, he said.

Mr. Raghavulu said the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, played his "usual gimmick" by denying any connection with the decision to increase the tariff in the past few days and by announcing yesterday that he would reduce the tariff in March next after curbing pilferage.

About the charge that the Left parties and the Congress were acting in tandem with the Peoples War Group on tariff hike issue, he said, the PWG was identifying with agitations as and when it felt necessary. He ridiculed the charge that Opposition parties were one with the PWG, saying it was a Telugu Desam leader who was arrested the other day for his PWG links.

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Section  : Southern States
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