To those who consume up to 200 units of electricity each month, the Aam Aadmi Party has requested waiver of hefty bill amounts during Lockdown months. It is in the face of citizens’ lakhs having higher bills from Maharashtra for June.
Those in the consumption of 0-200 units are the poor and middle class who were hit hard by the heavy bills.
Now, AAP has launched the ‘Hisaab Do’ campaign on the issue of ‘inflated’ electricity bills. While on Friday its activists would protest in various districts across Maharashtra, the party launched a new website for people called hisaabdo.in — which will collectively forward complaints to the energy ministry, MERC.
National AAP spokesman Preeti Sharma Menon said the party will strongly oppose cumulative bills sent to consumers where the bills have attracted higher payment slabs. “This is not done. Consumers were burdened with higher slab payments, instead of giving relief,” she pointed out.
A senior official at MSEDCL said the June billing had slab benefits for all customers, and those who failed to pay the previous 2-3 month bills had to pay it cumulatively. All power distribution companies including Adani Electricity, Tata Power and BEST said the bills were properly measured and there is no single ‘wrong bill’ case.
Menon said the party would firmly condemn the arguments made by the discomforts of government.
AAP volunteers also go door-to – door and will send nearly two lakh customer signatures to the government, in addition to organizing major protests.
The new website also has built in ‘Bill Calculator’ to enable consumers to compare bills with the tariffs in Delhi. “The Delhi government has revolutionized governance in India. It has the cheapest power tariff in the country and has recognized power as basic dignity for every citizen and has thus ensured consumption of 200 units of electricity, to be absolutely free. If this can happen in Delhi, then why not in Maharashtra? “, said Durgesh Pathak of AAP.
Added party state secretary Dhananjay Shinde, “In Maharashtra, we have had some of the largest tariffs in the country coupled with the issue of power outages in rural areas. Such high power bills are unacceptable.”
