Discoms seek APERC nod to revise power tariffs
While EPDCL requested the commission to true-down the charges by Rs 1,226 crore, CPDCL and SPDCL together wanted to collect true-up charges to the tune of Rs 842 crore.
All three discoms admitted that they collected an additional 40 paise per unit as fuel and power purchase cost adjustment (FPPCA) charges each month in financial year 2024-25 — a financial burden of ₹2,787.19 crore on electricity consumers in the state after the NDA govt came to power.
Even if the returns of the discoms' latest filings are taken into consideration, the overall tariff burden levied in the last fiscal would be around Rs 2,300 crore.
Consumers under CPDCL and SPDCL are likely to face more burden on the existing power tariff.
Taking strong objection to the proposal, CPI-M state secretary V Srinivasa Rao demanded that discoms should first refund the entire Rs 2,787 crore as the govt has promised not to impose any additional burden on electricity consumers.
Ch Babu Rao, the party's state secretariat member, asked discoms to stop playing number game in the name of electricity true-up and true-down charges.
Speaking at the virtual hearing conducted by APERC, Babu Rao accused the state govt and power distribution companies of burdening consumers. He said in 2024-25, fuel adjustment charges of 40 paise per unit per month were illegally collected in advance from consumers, which totalled to ₹2,787 crore.
Criticising the two distribution companies for seeking permission to collect an additional ₹842 crore under true-up charges, he said another distribution company seems to be "deceiving the public" by claiming a surplus.
"Authorities of playing a hypocritical game by collecting adjustment charges in advance and calling it a true-down. Adjustment charges are imposed monthly and annually, and true-up charges are levied every five years, exploiting people in various ways," he alleged.
GFX
Govt has admitted losses of ₹12,818 crore due to delay in construction of VTPS and Krishnapatnam plants
Delay in completion of Polavaram hydroelectric plant caused a loss of ₹4,737 crore
Transmission and distribution losses between 2019 and 2024 accounted for ₹9,618 crore
Suspension of thermal plant production resulted in a loss of ₹3,138 crore to power utilities
CPDCL and SPDCL want to increase tariff by Rs 842 crore, while EPDCL wants to reduce charges by Rs 1,287 crore
The 3 discoms admitted they have already collected Rs 2,787 crore for 2024-25 on adhoc basis at Rs 0.40 per unit from consumers
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Hans India
23 minutes ago
- Hans India
Chennai Metrowater to replace 40-year-old sewer lines in city at Rs 946-crore outlay
Chennai: In a major infrastructure upgrade aimed at ending persistent sewage issues in the northern parts of the city, the Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board (Metrowater) has announced plans to replace the entire 40-year-old sewer network in key neighbourhoods. The Rs 946-crore project, taken up under the Vada Chennai Valarchi Thittam, will cover 213 km of sewer lines, benefitting more than 20 lakh residents in areas such as Royapuram, Tondiarpet and Thiru Vi Ka Nagar. The existing pipelines, many of which are prone to reverse flow, blockages and frequent breakages, will be replaced with larger-diameter pipes to handle the increased sewage load. The main lines, currently 200 mm wide, will be expanded to 400 mm. Metrowater has engaged Sai Engineering Consultants to prepare the detailed designs for the works, which will commence shortly. Metrowater Managing Director T.G. Vinay in a statement said the project would also include odour control systems at sewage treatment plants, along with the installation of 126 new pump sets and 41 diesel generators to fast-track the flow. "We will also build between 200 and 500 new machine holes in each zone, enabling quick access for maintenance workers. Additional sewage pumping stations are planned in Kolathur and Villivakkam to address complaints of reverse flow," he said. The works are scheduled for completion by June 2026, though some have already begun. Dr. Radhakrishnan Nagar MLA J.J. Ebenzer welcomed the project but expressed concerns over the allocation of funds. "Around 40 per cent of the estimated cost is earmarked for RK Nagar, but this will not be sufficient. We must also include Kasimedu and Tondiarpet, where the lines are over 30 years old. Narrow, rusted pipes often break, causing road sinkage," he said. Royapuram MLA Idream Murthy said that six projects have been sanctioned for his constituency. "We are replacing sewer lines in several bus route roads, including Mint, Cemetery Road and Old Washermenpet. The work is being carried out in patches to minimise inconvenience to the public. As per government instructions, no digging will be permitted after September 15, so 50 per cent of the pipeline work will be completed before that date, with the rest taken up after January," he said. Metrowater officials believe the upgraded sewer network will significantly improve sewage flow and reduce maintenance problems, marking a major step forward in modernising the city's core infrastructure.
Indian Express
23 minutes ago
- Indian Express
‘Rahul's vote-theft charge doesn't stand scrutiny': At heart of row, Mahadevapura's BJP strongman
In the wake of Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi's questioning of the 2024 Lok Sabha poll verdict in the Bangalore Central constituency – by alleging the 'theft' of 1,00,250 votes in its Mahadevapura Assembly segment – BJP leader Aravind Limbavali has been busy collecting information through his booth-level agents (BLAs) and party workers to refute the LoP's charges. 'I am challenging Rahul Gandhi to prove that the one lakh votes that he claims were stolen from the electoral records in Mahadevapura actually translated into physical votes at the booth in the Lok Sabha polls,' Limbavali said, accusing Gandhi of 'spreading fake information'. 'The Congress has raised questions about Mahadevapura due to the heavy lead the region provided to the BJP candidate in the Lok Sabha polls,' Limbavali claimed. While Limbavali did not dispute the existence of discrepancies in Mahadevapura's electoral rolls, he claimed there were no illegalities involved. He also pointed to similar discrepancies in voter lists for seats won by Congress leaders, including Chief Minister Siddaramaiah. 'The Election Commission (EC) has started a cleaning process of the electoral rolls from Bihar. It should continue. These allegations of bogus votes, mass votes, bulk votes should be stopped even though the five allegations made by Gandhi regarding Mahadevapura are not valid,' he said. Limbavali said there has been a huge flow of migrant voters in and out of Mahadevapura since the seat's creation, resulting in a trebling of the number of voters from 2.75 lakh in 2008 to 6.8 lakh at present. 'There is natural growth of population that has occurred in Mahadevapura. Of course there is also rapid growth in the numbers in the voters list,' Limbavali said. 'It is because there are a lot of migrants coming to our constituency and as a consequence the number of voters tends to rise substantially in the region between elections. People living here also tend to leave in large numbers since it involves migrant workers and as a result there are large numbers of deletions in the voter rolls as well,' the BJP leader said. 'Look at the development of the constituency. If we look at the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) limits alone there were 1.48 lakh properties in 2016-17 and the BBMP got Rs 361 crore as tax revenue. In 2024-25, the region had 3.59 lakh properties and contributed Rs 885 crore in tax,' Limbavali said. The BJP has won the Mahadevapura Assembly and Bangalore Central Lok Sabha seats in all four elections since 2008, winning them thrice by over a lakh votes. 'The BJP's graph has been rising in Mahadevapura. We do not know why Rahul Gandhi is upset with us. In 2019 also, the Lok Sabha polls were similar. (BJP candidate) P C Mohan won by 70,968 votes and we gave him a lead of 72,559 in Mahadevapura. This time also the same thing has happened and we (in Mahadevapura) have given a lead of 1.14 lakh and Mohan has won by a margin of 32,707 votes,' Limbavali said. On Gandhi's claim that the Congress led in all Assembly segments under Bangalore Central except Mahadevapura, Limbavali said, 'This is not true. We had leads from four Assembly segments – Rajajinagar (39,429 votes), Gandhinagar (23,324), C V Raman Nagar (20,114) and Mahadevapura (1.14 lakh).' Between the 2023 Assembly and 2024 Lok Sabha polls in Mahadevapura, the BJP votes in the segment increased by 47,901 from 1.82 lakh in 2023, while the Congress's votes dipped by 21,744 from 1.37 lakh in 2023. Since Gandhi's Thursday presentation, where he made his 'vote fraud' allegations, Limbavali has tasked BJP workers and his BLAs to check the Mahadevapura's electoral rolls. He has also collected data on similar 'discrepancies' in seats won by the Congress in the 2023 Assembly polls. 'There are five key allegations that Gandhi has made about my constituency. First, fake and invalid votes – 40,009; second, bulk voters with a single address – 10,452; third, misuse of Form 6 – 33,692; fourth, duplicate voters – 11,955; and fifth, invalid photos – 4,132. He has also provided seven examples to substantiate the allegations,' Limbavali said 'Our BLAs collect all data of voting in each booth. The BLAs mark the votes as the voter appears in the booth and casts vote. We have studied the allegations and examples and conducted a reality check,' the BJP leader said. Citing his BLAs' records from the election day, Limbavali has sought to refute the examples of duplicate voters flagged by Gandhi. Gurkirat Singh Dang: Gandhi has claimed a person identified as Dang was present four times in the voter list in four different booths. Limbavali has conceded this claim. 'We spoke to him and found out what happened. He is currently in Chennai. He said he first applied to be added to the voter list in Kannamangala-Seegehalli. His online application was shown as an error and then shown as rejected. He applied again on two more occasions and it was rejected similarly. Finally he used his mother's name and it was also rejected,' Limbavali said. 'When he checked in the voter list his name came up in four different booths. He later applied with Form 7 for deletion from all booths other than booth number 125, which was the correct booth for his residence. He voted only in one place,' Limbavali said. Aditya Srivastava: Gandhi also gave the example of Srivastava, from Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, as a voter listed in multiple booths. 'When Srivastava was 19, his name was added to the voter list in Lucknow. Later, he completed his MBA and got a job in Mumbai. His name was added to the voter list in Mumbai. He moved from Mumbai to Bengaluru and rented a flat in an apartment – he voted in the 2023 polls when he was at this address,' Limbavali said. 'In the same apartment complex, Srivastava bought his own flat and voted in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls with this new address. In large apartment blocks, voting booths can be different for people in different blocks since only around 1,000 to 1,200 voters are allocated to each booth. He used Form 7 for change of address,' Limbavali claimed. Vishal Singh: Gandhi gave the example of Varanasi native Vishal Singh allegedly voting in two booths in Mahadevapura. 'He (Vishal) came to Marathahalli for work and lived in a rented house. He was a voter in booth number 321 in the Assembly poll. Subsequently, he moved to an apartment in Doddakannelli and changed his vote to the new location using Form 7,' Limbavali said. Gandhi gave the example of booth number 432 in Mahadevapura, where the addresses for voters were recorded as '00' in the electoral rolls. 'Our poll agents have gone and met these people at the address provided in the voter list. They have provided their addresses but it has not been added in the voter rolls. This is not their fault. The addresses have appeared as '00' or '0'. Gandhi has quoted this to suggest that 40,009 voters have provided fake addresses,' Limbavali said. Gandhi gave examples of three separate places for his claim that there were 10,452 bulk voters. One is Bellandur's booth number 470, where he claimed there were 80 voters at one address. 'We have checked and found that only six of these 80 voters have voted… If they had looked at the ground reality they would have found the truth. Somebody has prepared this information and provided it to (Gandhi) without verification,' Limbavali said. 'Here there are houses with long rooms that are used as dormitories for migrant workers. These people are workers at a hotel. This is the accommodation provided by the hotel owner. Can workers in a hotel vote or not?' The second example is from Marathahalli, where 48 voters were alleged to have the same address. 'All the voters were in a shed near a construction site. This is booth number 366, where 48 people have the same address, but only two of the 48 voted,' Limbavali said. 'There is also a brewery in booth number 243, where 68 workers are shown as voters with the same address since the workers were given a common accommodation. Only two of the 68 voters from this address voted in the 2024 polls,' he claimed. 'There is huge migration in our constituency and people keep coming and going. We have checked in the last 24 hours and these are our findings.' 'The allegation is the photos are not recognisable but they have appeared in the voter list in the form they have been uploaded by voters. When voting, their identity can be cross-checked with other identities. The EC has authorised over 20 separate IDs,' Limbavali said while replying to Gandhi's claim that there are 4,132 such voters. Limbavali alleged Gandhi falsely claimed Shakun Rani was among 33,692 voters who 'misused' Form 6 to be added to the voter list more than once. 'She is from Panipat and is living in Mahadevapura's Purva apartments. She tried to add her name to the voters list with Form 6. She got no response for two months and then she applied again. When she checked the voter list subsequently, she found her name twice in the same booth,' he claimed. 'Gandhi has misguided people about this person saying she has voted twice. Who has marked her as voted twice in the same booth? It is on the BLA-marked roll of (the Congress),' he claimed. 'When I checked the rolls with my BLA, we found Shakun Rani voted only once.' Pointing to records from the 2023 polls, Limbavali said there are several voters with '00' listed as their address in CM Siddaramaiah's Varuna Assembly constituency under the Chamarajanagar Lok Sabha seat. 'In booth number 8 (in Varuna), there are so many voters with addresses as '00'… Are these also fake? If I am fake, then Siddaramaiah is also fake, as per Gandhi. It may be an input error in online systems. Please ask the EC why these mistakes are happening,' Limbavali said. Limbavali also said there were bulk voters in seats won by the Congress. 'In BTM Layout (a seat won by Congress minister Ramalinga Reddy), in booth number 100, in house number 1, there are over 90 people… I will not make any allegations… because it could be a mass accommodation or dormitory for workers. We cannot make allegations only on the basis of the numbers,' he said. He claimed there were also 'duplicate voters' in the Congress-held seats. 'In Chamrajpet, Ayesha Bhanu's name appears in booth number 45 as serial number 196, and also in booth 47 as serial number 763. Rahamatullah is a voter in Shivajinagar with double entry in booth number 169 as serial number 717, and booth number 11 as serial number 244,' the BJP leader alleged.
The Print
37 minutes ago
- The Print
Ambulance scam to data theft FIR, ‘fraud' is the flavour of Bihar poll season as PK & BJP clash
Initially, he focused on Dilip Jaiswal, the BJP state president, accusing him of fraudulently acquiring a medical college. Following that, Kishore directed his attention to Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, claiming that his educational records were forged. Most recently, Kishore accused Bihar's Health Minister Mangal Pandey in an ambulance scam. He alleges that under Pandey's leadership, the health ministry purchased 466 ambulances at an inflated price of Rs 28 lakh each, while other governments managed similar purchases for just Rs 12 lakh. Kishore further claims that the BJP state president granted the status of deemed university to a medical college in exchange for money. After mostly ignoring him for some time, BJP leaders have begun openly labeling Kishore as a 'political thief and fraud'. This shift comes after Kishore systematically targeted various BJP leaders. New Delhi: As the Bihar assembly elections draw near, tensions are rising between the BJP and political strategist Prashant Kishore. Kishore, who recently launched his political party, Jan Suraaj, has intensified his criticism of the ruling BJP, accusing its leaders of fraud, while the BJP has filed an FIR claiming he was tarnishing the BJP's image and accused him of stealing data and ideas during the 2020 assembly elections. Also read: NDA vs JSP vs Mahagathbandhan—Bihar elections are a litmus test for old & new politics 'BJP more corrupt than even Lalu' Expanding on his allegations of corruption against Bihar's Health Minister Mangal Pandey, Kishore stated: 'In February 2022, the Health Department issued a tender for the acquisition of 1,250 ambulances at a total cost of Rs 200 crore. While the Bihar government purchased 466 ambulances for Rs 19,58,257 each, the bidding process raised significant concerns. Only two companies, Tata Motors and Force, were manufacturing these ambulances. However, Tata Motors was excluded from the bidding due to a clause stipulating that the ambulances must have air conditioning only in the patient seating area, while Tata claimed their design provided AC in the entire vehicle. The government ultimately chose Force's ambulances. 'In the short span of three years, the cost of these ambulances surged from Rs 19 lakh to Rs 28,47,580. The bid documents mentioned that companies were required to have service centres in every district, yet Force lacks such centres across the state. Interestingly, their website lists the ambulance price at Rs 21 lakh, and Odisha acquired similar ambulances at Rs 18 lakh each. Even Uttar Pradesh managed to buy 2,500 ambulances for just Rs 12 lakh each. This raises crucial questions about the inflated costs in Bihar, which appear to benefit only Mangal Pandey,' he added. Kishore further alleged that 'Mangal Pandey received a Rs 25 lakh bribe from Dilip Jaiswal through RTGS for the purchase of a flat in Dwarka. In his capacity as health minister, Pandey then awarded Jaiswal, the BJP state president, a medical college in Kisangani, granting it deemed university status.' Prashant Kishore has raised serious questions about the new Chief Secretary of Bihar, Praty Amrit, who previously served as the Principal Secretary for Health. Kishore challenged him regarding the controversial purchase of 12 lakh ambulances, which were allegedly bought at a cost of Rs 27 lakh each. He urged Amrit to clarify the details surrounding this ambulance acquisition. Kishore claimed, 'It is widely believed in Bihar that Lalu is corrupt, but the BJP is an even bigger thief than the RJD. They indulge in corruption behind closed doors. This isn't the BJP of Govindacharya and Kailashpati Mishra; this is the BJP of thugs and corrupt individuals.' In July, Kishore accused the BJP's state president and former revenue minister of seizing a medical college through deceitful means. In a press conference, he stated, 'Dilip Jaiswal has not only taken control of the Sikh minority college, Mata Gujri Memorial Medical College, but has maintained his grip on it for 25 to 30 years. He systematically ousted the entire family of the institution's founder and eventually became the director, starting his career as a clerk.' Kishore pointed out that Jaiswal's fraudulent rise from clerk to director took 25 years, noting that Rabri Devi and Jaiswal are siblings, and their family members have studied at Jaiswal's medical college, which is why the RJD has never raised questions on issues regarding Jaiswal. In July, Prashant Kishore leveled serious accusations against Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary, alleging that he submitted a false affidavit, which resulted in the cancellation of his election due to discrepancies regarding his age. Kishore stated: 'I have all the documentation concerning Samrat Choudhary. He failed in the seventh grade. The real name is Rakesh Kumar. The court had annulled his membership of the Legislative Assembly for submitting a false affidavit as an MLA. It's amusing to see that this individual resurfaced under a new identity, Rakesh Kumar alias Samrat Chaudhary. Now, Rakesh Kumar has vanished, leaving only Samrat Chaudhary. Examining his affidavits from the last two elections, it's astonishing that his age jumped to 48 in just ten years. While our age naturally increases by ten years, his age claims an increase of 38 years. In merely a decade, he went from being in the seventh grade to earning a (Doctor of Letters, after PhD).' Following these allegations, the BJP filed an FIR against Kishore, accusing him of damaging Samrat Choudhary's reputation. Bihar BJP working committee member Krishna Singh Kallu submitted the FIR at the Gandhi Maidan police station, claiming that Prashant Kishor used derogatory language against Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Chaudhary. Krishna Singh's complaint states that Kishor's remarks aim to tarnish the image of the BJP and its leaders. In a recent escalation, the BJP accused Prashant Kishore of being a fraud and a political thief, alleging that he stole ideas and data during the 2020 assembly elections. Bihar BJP spokesperson, while addressing a press conference in Patna, claimed that a Congress worker named Shashwat Gautam had filed a case against Kishore in 2020, asserting that associates of Kishore took election campaign ideas from the Patliputra office. The complaint mentions an individual named Osama Khurshid, who contested the Patna University election on a JD(U) ticket and accused Kishore of taking a laptop containing sensitive data. Although the laptop was returned, the data allegedly went missing. According to the FIR, Kishore launched a campaign titled 'Baat Bihar Ki' on 18 February 2020, reportedly utilising the same material. The complaint accuses Kishore of intellectual property theft. However, Kishor's lawyer emphasised that the data in question was publicly accessible and any resemblance in campaign themes was purely coincidental. In response to these allegations, BJP spokesperson Danish Iqbal stated, 'The real face of Kishore has been exposed; he is not a leader but a political thief.' BJP spokesperson Prem Ranjan Patel recently stated to ThePrint, 'Prashant Kishore is making baseless allegations against BJP leaders to gain attention. The people of Bihar are aware which party is likely to hurt his electoral ambitions. The upcoming elections are a contest between the Mahagathbandhan and the NDA alliance, and Kishore is not a serious contender; he's only looking to siphon off a few votes, which is why he's making such accusations.' In the past, neither Samrat Choudhary nor Jaiswal have directly confronted Kishore; in fact, Samrat Choudhary has referred to him as a 'big brother'. Mangal Pandey on 8 August defended himself against Kishore's charges saying that the case of the ambulance order is in court. 'I have checked, payment has not been made to the company concerned. As far as the loan taken from Jaiswal is concerned, I have paid him back,' said Pandey. A BJP leader from Bihar commented, 'Prashant's increased attacks seem aimed at gaining a share of the BJP's vote base. It's clear he won't be able to make significant inroads into Lalu's core vote base of Muslim Yadavs. Even with the BJP's substantial election machinery, we struggled to make headway in the RJD's voter bank. Consequently, it won't be easy for Kishore. He seems to be targeting middle-class voters and aspirational upper-caste and OBC segments who are eager for a better future. In his speeches, Kishore is focusing on these demographics, which could pose a challenge for the BJP. This explains his attacks on key BJP figures in Bihar, including Samrat Choudhary, Deputy CM Kushwaha, State President Jaiswal, and Brahmin leader Mangal Pandey, as he attempts to penetrate our voter base.' (Edited by Viny Mishra) Also read: Nitish is not fit to continue as CM, NDA will lose power in Bihar come November—Prashant Kishor
