Scores of Congress workers and farmers held a protest today outside the residence of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, demanding a roll back of "arbitrary hike" in power tariff and reduction in the load capacity of tube-wells used by farmers for irrigation purposes.
The protestors, led by DPCC chief Ajay Maken, came in tractors and bullock carts, holding flags and placards, and raised slogans against the AAP government.
Maken alleged that the AAP government had "turned a blind eye" to NDPL's "arbitrary" hike of power tariffs from agricultural to non domestic low tension category and reduction in the load capacity of tube-wells used by farmers for irrigation purposes to 10 kw from 20 kw for the purpose of availing subsidy.
According to a July 20 NDPL order on the change of rate category from agriculture to NDLT, the farmers were no longer "eligible to be considered under agriculture rate category", DPCC said in a statement.
This arbitrary revision in the load capacity of tube-wells without the knowledge of farmers, and bringing them under the ambit of commercial category, has "inflicted" a very "heavy financial burden" on the farmers who use tube-wells for irrigating their agricultural fields, Maken alleged.
He claimed farmers, who were having power loads of 6 to 8 kw, and those who were getting bills for Rs 1000 to Rs 2000, were now being forced to shell out sums to the tune of Rs 40,000 and above as their power loads have been "arbitrarily revised" to 10 kw and above, to bring them above the subsidy category, so that they could be charged at commercial rates.
The DPCC chief said the AAP government can "intervene and play a role in decision-making in this case, but it is not."
"We, therefore, would wait and see if the AAP government responds or not. And, if it doesn't, then several of these farmers and our party workers would go to Punjab and expose the lies of the Delhi government," Maken said.
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