Even as opposition BJP stepped up its tirade against unscheduled and long duration power cuts being experienced across Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Kamal Nath issued a stern warning to officials that power cuts despite surplus power availability would not be tolerated.
The chief minister conducted back to back review meeting for the second day on Tuesday as reports of power cuts from various parts of the state—already harried by temperatures of over 45 degrees—continued to pour in.
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On Monday, Kamal Nath had conducted a meeting and warned the officials of strict action if power supply was disrupted for reasons other than technical snag.
The Congress leaders and ministers have repeatedly maintained that there is a deliberate attempt by a section of employees to disrupt power supply in the peak summer despite the state being in power surplus situation. The issue was raked up during the Lok Sabha elections campaign, too, with the Congress alleging conspiracy by the BJP behind the problem.
According to available information, Madhya Pradesh generates 19,000 MW power, while the demand is only about 9,500 MW even during the peak season. This means that the state is surplus by about double of what is needed.
The managing director of the MP Power Management Company, Sukhvir Singh, also asserted on Monday that the company had supplied 70 crore more unit of power in April-May this year compared to the same period in 2018.
Meanwhile, the BJP members, wearing masks of the chief minister and holding kerosene lanterns, held protests at Indore on Tuesday.
Gopal Bhargava, the leader of opposition, attacked the state government over “poor power and water supply” situation in the state. Bhargava said blaming the power company officials and employees for the current situation is not acceptable. If the government was not able to manage its own employees, it did not have any right to stay in power, he added.
With the opposition stepping up its tirade, Kamal Nath held a meeting with top officials and directed that the technical snags leading to power cuts be immediately taken care of by trained personnel.
The chief minister also warned the officials of consequences if there is no qualitative improvement visible in the power supply situation in June. Energy minister Priyavrat Singh was also present at the meeting.
