Reconsider hike: Dattatreya

By Our Special Correspondent

HYDERABAD, MAY 28. The Union Minister of State for Urban Development, Mr. Bandaru Dattatreya, has urged the Chief Minister, Mr. N. Chandrababu Naidu, to reconsider the steep hike in power tariff approved by the A.P. Electricity Regulatory Commission.

Describing the revised tariff as `high dose', he said certain categories of domestic consumers would have to bear an additional 100 per cent burden and farmers 61 per cent. He wanted the Government to convene an all-party meeting to discuss the issue.

Borrowing Mr. Naidu's own phrase, Mr. Dattatreya said all reforms should have a human face and tariff hikes phased out over a longer period of time to avoid burdening the consumers suddenly. "The present hike is unfair", he added.

The Union Minister tried to soften his remarks by saying that it was the APERC and not the Government which had fixed the new rates. The Government's options too were limited since the AP Transco had run up huge financial and transmission and distribution losses.

Mr. Dattatreya, who was briefing presspersons here on Sunday about his official meeting with the Chief Minister recently, said he had asked Mr. Naidu to seek suggestions of BJP leaders on various aspects of utilisation of Godavari waters by convening a joint meeting with engineers and officials.

He made this plea against the backdrop of the recent talks between the Chief Minister and the then Union Minister for Water Resources, Mr. C.P. Thakur, when they decided to constitute a joint committee of technical experts to study the feasibility of a multi-purpose lift irrigation project on Godavari.

The Minister said the BJP had done considerable groundwork on the issue and was willing to cooperate with the Government. He welcomed the Government's announcement that five investigation divisions would be opened soon to study the proposed project.

Mr. Dattatreya refused to join the criticism levelled by BJP leaders, Mr. A. Narendra and Mr. M. Kishen Rao, against the Chief Minister for not involving Central Ministers from A.P. in his talks with Mr. Thakur. He felt that confrontation should be avoided as far as possible on Godavari waters.

He also took up with the Chief Minister the delay in follow-up action by the Government after Parliament repealed the Urban Land Ceiling Act. Mr. Dattatreya said the delay was holding up house construction activity all over the State. In Hyderabad alone, nearly 6,000 housing societies would benefit if the State Government passed a law scrapping the ceiling on urban land.

The Chief Minister informed him that he would review the report of a three-member committee constituted for the purpose and take a decision in consultation with the Minister. Mr. Dattatreya requested Mr. Naidu to drop the Government's plans to construct an abattoir at Chengicherla in Rangareddy district as it would render thousands of butchers in the Twin Cities jobless.

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Section  : Southern States
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