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Nandini Oza
Nandini Oza

Charges fly

'BJP favoured four pvt companies for Gujarat power contracts'

electricity-reuters Representational image

Hours after Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi tweeted seeking answers from Prime Minister Narendra Modi on debt in Gujarat in the last 22 years, party leader Randeep Singh Surjewala on Thursday said the ruling BJP was purchasing power from four private companies at a very high rate.

Surjewala said in Ahmedabad that between 2002 and 2016, the state government purchased electricity worth Rs 62,549 crore from four private sector companies—Adani Power, Essar Power, Tata Power and China Light and Power.

He alleged that while the state government purchased power from the private companies at prices ranging between Rs 7.83 per unit and Rs 24,67 per unit, NTPC provided power between the rate of Rs 2.63 per unit and Rs 3.17 per unit.

Albeit, the state government also purchased power from the NTPC.

Surjewala alleged that the state government's power plants were running at less than optimum capacity. According to him, as against the production capacity of 6,712MW, the plants produced 18,518 million units in 2013-14. In 2014-15, as against the capacity of 7,765MW, the plants produced 22,899 million units and in 2015-16, as against the capacity of 8,641MW, they produced 21,844 units.

The Congress leader alleged that the Gujarat Government was only producing 3,283MW of power from government power plants against their installed capacity of 8,641MW. Surjewala said that as against this, the percentage of load factor (power production from government-owned plants) was double even 22 years ago when the Congress demitted power in Gujarat.

He said in 1991-92, it was 57 per cent. In 1992-93, it was 61.6 per cent and in 1993-94, it was 60.4 per cent.

Surjewala alleged that this was nothing but systematic undermining of power infrastructure by the BJP government in Gujarat.

The Congress leader pointed out that the National Tariff Policy, 2006—that was decided by the then UPA Government—warranted that electricity can be only purchased through competitive bid offers.

The stark difference in prices between private power companies and the NTPC itself told the story, he alleged.

Before beginning his second day of engagements, Gandhi had tweeted on Thursday morning. He said that in 1995, the debt on Gujarat was Rs 9,183 crore and in 2017, the debt was Rs 2,41,000 crore. This, he said, meant a debt burden of Rs 37,000 on each Gujarati. “Why should the people of Gujarat pay for your mismanagement and publicity?” he asked rhetorically to the BJP.

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