The whole power sector in Andhra Pradesh got destroyed in the past three-and-half years and the total debt burden on the Discoms touched a whooping Rs 50,000 cr during the YSRCP rule, stated TDP spokesperson, Kommareddy Pattabhiram, on Tuesday.
Pattabhiram told media persons that Minister, Peddireddy Ramachandra Reddy, during a review on the power sector on Monday claimed that the Electricity Department is achieving excellent results and all the consumers are happy. He also boasted himself that radical changes have been introduced in the power sector. The fact is that the whole sector got completely damaged after Jagan Mohan Reddy became the Chief Minister of the State, Pattabhi remarked.
“During Chandrababu Naidu regime not even a single rupee was charged from the consumers and quality power was supplied for 24 hours and 365 days. The total debt burden on the Discoms in five years was a mere Rs 4,188 cr,” Pattabi pointed out. The TDP supremo, who brought in several changes in the power sector, supplied free electricity by improving the working conditions of the Discoms,” he said.
Pattabhi dared Peddyreddy to prove with evidence that he was wrong. When the TDP came to power in 2014, the total debts of the Discoms was Rs 13,834 cr and when the TDP’s rule ended in 2018-19 the debt reached a mere Rs 18,022 cr. This means the debts during the TDP regime was only Rs 4,188 cr, he pointed out.
However, after Jagan came to power in 2019 and till 2022 the total debts reached from Rs 18,022 cr to Rs 50,004 cr. Hence, in the past three-and-half years, Jagan raised Rs 31,981 cr loans in the name of Discoms, which clearly indicates that on an average he raised Rs 1250 cr loan per month after he became the Chief Minister of the State, Pattabhi noted.
Is this the development in power sector as claimed by the Minister concerned, Pattabhiram asked and felt that despite raising these loans the situation has come to such a pass that a power holiday was declared in the State. Besides raising thousands of crores of loans, power charges too have been revised at least seven times in the past three-and-half years thus bringing an additional burden of Rs 17,000 cr on the consumers, he stated.
During the 2014-19 the burden on the Discoms increased by only 30 percent from 2019, during the YSRCP rule the burden has risen to 177 per cent, Pattabhiram maintained. Not only quality power is not supplied to the consumers but also with the undeclared power-cuts and installing meters to motor pump-sets they are being subjected to other kinds of difficulties, the TDP leader stated.
Pattabiram demanded Jagan and Peddireddy to reply with evidence how the money looted from the power consumers amounting to almost Rs 50,000 cr has been diverted.
