Silent twist-new conditions added to get 600+ free power units by PSPCL
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
Punjab state power corporation limited has issued a letter to all the engineer-in-chief/ chief engineers (distribution) and engineer-in-chief (IT) about the free 600 units announced by the state government.
The powercom has also released a sample of self declaration form for certain categories like SC/BC/ Non SC/ BC, BPL and Punjab state freedom fighters and their legal heirs and ask them to submit this self declaration for availing free 300 units per month.
In this self declaration certain conditions are added like that the above category persons/ residents have to declare that his / her family monthly pension is not above Rs 10,000/- per month.
A retired powercom senior official said “ it seems that the AAP govt had promised something different before the assembly elections and is now giving something else. Like, is any resident who is a member of a family of above categories, is paying income tax than he or his/ her family is able to get benefits of 600 above units consumption or not? Because, in the self declaration, a point is added that the person has to inform the government, if any one from SC/BC/ Non SC/ BC, BPL and Punjab state freedom fighters and their legal heirs is paying income tax or is going to pay the same in future also, than they will be not liable to get the free 600 + unit benefit.”
Another senior retired power engineer added that “ concession is subject to other standing conditions mentioned in the attached Self Declaration Form attached as annexure is perhaps nowhere even indicated in the minutes/ letter of Government of Punjab etc.”
” It’s a positive step by the debt ridden powercom that they added these conditions to curtail the freebies offered by the state government. If a person is earning good, living standard is good, can afford to pay their children private school fees, afford private coaching institutes, having two-wheeler, four wheeler, ACs, LED’s etc than they must be excluded from these benefits. They are getting these benefits, just because they fall in certain categories. Ultimately, we have to pay for these freebies in one way or other way”said Gagandeep, a sociologist.
Silent twist-new conditions added to get 600+ free power units by PSPCL. Meanwhile, Punjab state power corporation director commercial Gopal Sharma couldn’t be contacted despite repeated tries.
On this development, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring today lashed out at the Aam Aadmi Party government in the state for cheating and betraying people of Punjab in the name of free power.
Reacting to the latest notification issued by the Punjab Power State Corporation Limited (PSPCL) on 600 units of free power where a lot of conditions have been imposed for free power, Warring said, the state government has virtually excluded most of the population in Punjab.
“The conditions for getting the free power are such that not many households will be eligible for the 600 units of free power”, he said, while referring to the conditions announced today by the PSPCL. Giving example, he said, no income tax payee, no family with a pensioner or a government employee will be eligible for free power.
“This is not what you had promised and repeatedly announced after forming the government”, Warring told the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, saying, it is blatant cheating with people of Punjab.
So much so, the PCC president pointed out, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was repeatedly telling blunt lies in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh that people of Punjab were getting 600 units of free power and if AAP formed a government in these states, people there would also get free power.
“We will expose your lies in both the states as how you have cheated Punjabis by first making sweeping promises then imposing strict and restraining conditions”, he warned the AAP leaders, saying, they seem to have adopted the “jumlabazi culture” from their ideological mentors.
“But let me tell you, you may fool some people sometimes, but you can’t fool all the people all the time and your time is already up as lies always come with an expiry date”, Warring remarked.
July 23,2022
