Tamil Nadu to absorb Rs 520 crore to save small firms, domestic users
The order issued by TNERC has increased energy charges, fixed charges, and demand charges for all categories of consumers at 3.16% as expected, which is the escalation rate of CPI from April 2024 to April 2025.
Soon after the order was issued, a release by Minister for Electricity SS Sivasankar said, as assured earlier by Chief Minister MK Stalin, the increase in tariff will be fully absorbed by the government for 2.42 domestic consumers for all consumption slabs.
Since the exemption from fixed charges for domestic consumers will also be continued, there will be no impact on them due to the tariff increase, the release said.
The other category of users whose tariff hike will be borne by the government includes low-tension industries with a sanctioned load of up to 50 kW, small commercial establishments using up to 500 units of power bimonthly, cottage and micro industries, and power looms.
The release clarified that free power of 100 units for domestic consumers, 1,000 units for power looms, and free power for huts will continue.
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Indian Express
27 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Union MoS Bittu targets Punjab CM Mann over Doraha ROB issue: His words are loud, but the truth is none
The row over the No Objection Certificate (NOC) for the construction of a pending road over bridge (ROB) between Doraha and Sahnewal on the Ambala-Ludhiana railway section continued even on Tuesday with the Union Minister of State for Railways Ravneet Singh Bittu accusing the AAP-led Punjab government of 'holding back the project for political reasons.' Meanwhile, Punjab's PWD Minister Harbhajan Singh stated that Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann approved the project in October 2024. The Punjab minister accused the Railways of 'not granting the NOC for the overbridge, even though the central government is not contributing a single rupia for the construction'. 'Despite being Union Minister of State for Railways, Bittu failed to get the necessary approval,' he said. Bittu, on the other hand, said in a statement, 'Mann's words are loud, but truth is none; he fooled many and served none. This is a new low in dishonesty. The truth is the Punjab government is still holding back the project for political reasons.' The PWD minister accused Bittu of misleading the public regarding the issue of the Dhuri railway overbridge, stating that the entire funding for the overbridge's construction, Rs 54.46 crore, would be borne by the Punjab government, and the funds had already been released. The Punjab minister shared related approval documents with the media in Chandigarh, stating that since 2022, when Bhagwant Mann became the Chief Minister, he had announced the construction of this overbridge. 'The government has released Rs 54.46 crore for this purpose,' he added. Bittu also produced documents, claiming the government was yet to issue a 'clear and correct NOC' for the same. 'On May 2, May 21 and June 2, I wrote to Mann to issue NOC for the project and flagged the inordinate delay, but no response received to date,' Bittu in a statement said. 'The old NOC document, issued on November 11 last year, which Giaspura produced now, was a conditional NOC that was rejected, as it wasn't in accordance with the parameters of the Railways. After that, they have not issued a fresh NOC despite repeated reminders to the CM,' Bittu said. On Sunday, during a protest, AAP Payal MLA Manwinder Singh Giaspura targeted Bittu for failing to complete the overbridge project in his home district, Ludhiana, but 'playing politics over the similar project in Mann's constituency, Dhuri'. In Dhuri, Bittu had accused Mann of taking 'fake credit' for the upcoming ROB, and said that 'not a penny for the project has been sanctioned by the AAP government'. On the other hand, Mann had claimed that the Dhuri ROB was being established solely due to the efforts of the state government. To back his claim, Bittu shared a letter dated June 25 from the Executive Engineer, Construction, PWD Rupnagar, stating that 'the Punjab Government has only conditionally signed the General Arrangement Drawing (GAD) for the ROB. The condition imposed is that Railways must obtain an NOC from PWD before starting execution.' Bittu said, 'Despite this, the ruling party's MLA is representing an old letter dated 11.11.2024, misrepresenting facts before the public.' 'It's either a case of ignorance or deliberate misinformation. There's been a long chain of official communication after that 2024 letter, and they are conveniently hiding it,' Bittu added. Bittu said 190 trains pass through this ROB daily, along with over 3,000 vehicles. 'The public continues to suffer, while the Punjab government plays politics. The Railways is fully funding this Rs 70.56-crore project, yet the Punjab government, in alleged collusion with some officials, continues to withhold the necessary NOC,' the minister said. Bittu said, 'This Level Crossing (LC) number 164A is located between Doraha and Sahnewal stations on the Ambala (UMB)-Ludhiana (LDH) section. In the census of July 2022, the train vehicular unit (TVU) was approximately 6 lakh, so the ROB was proposed.' 'Earlier, the ROB was being built here by the Public Works Department (PWD) of the Punjab government through the concessionaire Atlanta Ropar Tollways Pvt Ltd. Northern Railway Construction. However, this work was terminated by PWD on August 5, 2021,' Bittu said. 'Thereafter, considering the high TVU of around 6 lakh, the work was sanctioned by the Railway Board, amounting to Rs 70.56 crore vide letter dated 29.02.2024. To avoid any contractual disputes at a later stage, the Railways wrote letters to the PWD twice in September last year for granting the NOC,' he said. 'On November 11, 2024, PWD, Punjab, issued the NOC letter to the Railways, but some of the terms and conditions of the NOC were not acceptable to Northern Railways such as taking the responsibility of the arbitration case ongoing between the Punjab government and the private firm which was earlier executing the work. A meeting was held in the conference hall of Punjab Secretariat in Chandigarh on January 27 between the representatives of the Railways and PWD officials led by secretary Ravi Bhagat to resolve the issue regarding the conditional NOC issued by PWD, Punjab, wherein it was decided that the Punjab government will relook into the legal aspect of this issue,' Bittu said. 'Multiple letters were written to the PWD and to the CM to remind them about the issuance of the NOC, but it hasn't been done to date,' Bittu added. The PWD minister, however, pointed out that in June 2021, when the Congress government was in power in Punjab, the traffic at the site was already around 1.75 lakh vehicles daily. 'However, Bittu did not raise the issue at that time. Now, he is engaging in false rhetoric to hide his failures.' He further said, 'Rs 1.32 crore has been released to PSPCL for utility shifting, and Rs 1.42 crore has been allocated to the Forest Department for the same.' Challenging Bittu, the PWD minister said, 'If he genuinely cares for the people of Punjab, he should facilitate the issuance of the NOC from the Railways. If Bittu can secure the Railways' approval within two days, the state government will commence the construction work on the third day itself, as the required funds are already available. The state government is only waiting for the Railways' NOC to begin the project.'
Time of India
28 minutes ago
- Time of India
Mettur dam canals opened to cater to irrigation needs
Salem: The east and west bank canals connected to the Mettur dam were opened on Tuesday to meet irrigation requirements in Salem, Namakkal, and Erode districts. Tourism minister R Rajendran opened the sluice gates of the Stanley Reservoir, allowing water from the Cauvery river to flow out of the dam and into the canals. "In response to farmers' requests, chief minister M K Stalin had directed the water resources department (WRD) officials to open the west and east bank canals of the Mettur dam for irrigation purposes," the minister said. He added that approximately 45,000 acres of land would benefit, including 16,443 acres in Salem district, 11,327 acres in Namakkal district, and 17,230 acres in Erode district. "I urge the farmers in these three districts to utilise the Cauvery water released through the Mettur east and west bank canals judiciously," he said. Salem MP T M Selvaganapathy, Rajya Sabha MP SR Sivalingam, and collector R Brindha Devi, among others were present when the sluice gates were opened. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Doctor's Day 2025 , messages and quotes!
Time of India
29 minutes ago
- Time of India
Ghaziabad hospital told to pay retired railway employee s 17k for claim process delay
Ghaziabad: District Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (DCDRC) has directed the Northern Railways chief medical superintendent (CMS) to pay over Rs 17,000 to a retired railway employee — as reimbursement and compensation for claim delay. While payment of Rs 12,398 has been ordered as treatment reimbursement for cataract surgery, that of Rs 5,000 has been directed as the compensation for delaying the payment of the claim. The commission also directed the payment to be made within 45 days of the order, failing which interest calculated at 6% would have to be paid. You Can Also Check: Noida AQI | Weather in Noida | Bank Holidays in Noida | Public Holidays in Noida Passing the order on June 23, the commission, presided over by Praveen Kumar Jain, said railway authorities should have taken necessary steps to initiate payment instead of rejecting the claim on the grounds of incomplete papers "when the claimant is a retired employee of the railways". Devilal Singh, who superannuated from the post of chief medical superintendent (CMS) in 2012, had filed an application before the DCDRC for direction to CMS, Delhi divisional office and assistant chief medical superintendent (ACMS) of Railway Hospital Ghaziabad. The complainant said during retirement, he was provided with a medical card covering him and his family members. He told the commission, "When I felt some problem with my right eye, I consulted the doctors at JP Hospital, Noida, and underwent a surgery on April 10, 2019, for which I paid Rs 35,890. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch CFD với công nghệ và tốc độ tốt hơn IC Markets Đăng ký Undo Once again, I had some issues with my right eye and was advised by doctors at JP Hospital to undergo a cataract surgery, which was conducted on Oct 1, 2019. This time, I paid Rs 30,500 towards the bills raised by the hospital. When I applied for reimbursement of the treatment cost with ACMS (Railway Hospital Ghaziabad) with all relevant documents, it was rejected, which was not just a deficiency in services but also illegal. " The complainant later filed an RTI application and was informed by the railways that his first claim of Rs 35,890 was settled by the railway department by paying Rs 1,786, as was admissible under the policy of Central Govt Health Service (CGHS). The complainant contended that since he was an employee of the railway, his claims could not be dealt with under the CGHS policy and were governed by the railway board. The counsel for the opponents said that railway authorities follow the railway board policy of 2005, effective since Jan 2007, under which beneficiaries can obtain treatment at hospitals recognised by the railways. "The beneficiaries are free to obtain treatment at any hospital of their choice, but in that case, reimbursement is done according to CGHS rates as applicable," the counsel said. He told the commission the second claim was rejected for inadequacy of documents. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Doctor's Day 2025 , messages and quotes!
