Southern States
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Andhra Pradesh
Cong. flayed for raking up power tariff issue
By Our Special Correspondent
HYDERABAD, JAN. 12. The Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, sniped at the Congress today for making power tariff an election issue with a clear political motive and distorting facts to confuse people.
``They know very well that the matter (revision of tariff) falls within the purview of the Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC) and that Government has no say in it except extending subsidy to the power sector.
The exercise has just begun. Yet, these people want me to tell them here and now what the new tariff will be,'' he noted.
Talking to reporters here, Mr. Chandrababu Naidu said he was not going to oblige Congressmen just because it suited their political needs. ``If they are so keen, why not they appear before the commission and plead their case. No, they will not.''
Giving an elaborate explanation, he said the ERC would call for details from all concerned - power developers, consumers, the Government - and follow it up with public hearings all over the State, before taking the final decision on the tariff revision.
It had done so already twice before. One could not rush the course of events and demand announcement at once, he said.
The Government had bargained for a subsidy of Rs. 1,500 crores plus this year, but had to weigh with another Rs. 800 crores to meet heavy demand. He was bestowing utmost attention on the power sector as it was critical to the development of the State. He was trying to tone up the efficiency of AP Transco by sustained monitoring.
It was he who pressured the Centre and the NTPC to set up a 1000 mw project in Visakhapatnam, solely dedicated to the State. In the recent years, 1,300 mw was added to the capacity and the quality of power certainly improved.
Mr. Chandrababu Naidu sought to play down the hitches in TDP-BJP alliance for the municipal elections, saying talks were on to sort out the `minor rift' and that he was hoping for the best. In any case, these things were not going to have any impact on the alliance prospects.
He declined to comment on the TRS president, K. Chandrasekhara Rao's charge that the Lok Satta was a puppet in the hands of the ruling party. Lok Satta had made some bitter comments on the TDP also.
Wrapping up the 10-day Janmabhoomi programme, the Chief Minister, who toured 13 districts, said it demonstrated high level of awareness among the weaker sections, particularly women, about population control, community hygiene, literacy, water conservation, building durable assets under Food-for-Work programme etc.
He was heartened to find that even in remote tribal tracts, people followed small family norm, satisfied with one child, even if it were a girl. Next round would address concerns of farmers and women.
Villagers were happy with `grama sachivalayas' meant to serve them better. As it were, village secretaries were appointed in 14,000 out of 20,000 villages. It was proposed to appoint a second secretary in villages with a population of over 10,000.
He said one million individual latrines would be constructed this year, for which an action plan was being formulated. Other Janmabhoomi highlights were 25,496 out of 25613 gram sabha held, 25,884 health camps, 30,172 veterinary camps held, Rs. 60-crore worth assets distributed, 12.55 lakh pensions distributed, 47,710 disabled people assisted under Cheyutha scheme.
A specific timeframe was fixed to redress grievances and a review mechanism established, holding officials accountable.
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