Power bills ‘shock’ sparks off new controversy in Maharashtra

Mumbai, Nov 18 : Another war of words erupted on Wednesday between Maharashtra’s ruling Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party after the government ruled out any “concessions” to consumers over inflated electricity bills during the lockdown period.
Energy Minister Nitin Raut blamed the Centre for not clearing the state’s dues on GST which could have enabled the government to extend relief to the consumers, as he had hinted before Diwali.
However, state BJP President Chandrakant Patil, Leaders of Opposition Devendra Fadnavis (Assembly) and Pravin Darekar (Council), senior leader Ashish Shelar and others slammed the government for letting down the consumers who are burdened with inflated power bills.
“The people of the state are already under stress due to the pandemic lockdown Despite making promises, the government has failed to provide any reliefs. Now, Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray must intervene in the matter and rescue the consumers,” said Shelar.
Justifying the move, Raut said that given the overall financial condition of the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Co Ltd (MSEDCL), it was not possible to give any relief, though the final decision would be taken by the Chief Minister.
He also slammed the BJP for not collecting the pending dues during its tenure which has left the government over-burdened with no options but to recover the dues.