Bhubaneswar: Following ruckus in the Assembly over power tariff hike, Energy Minister Dubya Shankar Mishra said Wednesday in the Assembly that the state government will urge the Odisha Electricity Regulatory Commission (OERC) to reconsider the hike in power tariff. His announcement came after the opposition created a ruckus in the Assembly protesting against the increase in power prices. Mishra said the government will submit a petition before the OERC and request it to reconsider its earlier order.
The OERC recently approved a minimal rise of 30 paise per unit in energy charges for domestic consumers for the financial year 2021-22 with effect from April 4 excluding those in BPL and those using irrigation facilities.
Opposition BJP and Congress stalled the proceedings of the Assembly several times throughout the day over the issue leading to numerous adjournments. They demanded immediate rollback of power prices. They said that people are already suffering from severe financial crunch due to COVID-19. Increase in power tariff will be an additional burden on them, the opposition said.
During the Question Hour, Congress MLAs disturbed proceedings forcing Speaker Surya Narayan Patro to adjourn the House till 11.30am. After resumption of proceedings Leader of Opposition Pradipta Kumar Naik raised the matter during Zero Hour. He said the state government should ask the OERC to withdraw the hike on electricity tariff. Congress legislature party leader Narasingha Mishra also criticised the government on the issue.
The speaker called an all-party meeting to resolve the issue. However, in spite of that BJP and Congress members continued their protests leading to further adjournments. When it finally resumed after 4.00pm, Mishra made his statement following which normalcy returned in proceedings.
Opposition chief whip Mohan Majhi (BJP) criticised the government for the hike in power tariff. He demanded immediate rollback of the increased amount.
“At a time, when common people are finding it hard to arrange one square meal, the power tariff hike is very unfortunate. We will hit the streets against the rise,” Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati said.
The BJD, on the other hand, blamed the Opposition parties for stalling proceedings of the House without discussing the matter. BJD legislator Amar Satpathy said both BJP and Congress habitually disturb Assembly proceedings.