Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal accused Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Friday of being hand-in glove with power companies and that being the reason for consumers in the city paying two times more than what they should be paying for electricity consumption.
Kejriwal alleged that when former Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairman Brijendra Singh tried to reduce tariff by 23 per cent after finding that power firms earned profits of Rs 3,577 crores and not loss of Rs 635 crores as was being projected to increase tariff, power companies went running to the Delhi government in 2010 and Dikshit stopped Singh from issuing the order.
In a statement the Delhi government has claimed all allegations of corruption or malafide intentions made by Kejriwal were contrary to the facts and records. The government claimed it had already been cleared by the High Court in the matter.
‘The then DERC chief Brijender Singh was to pass an order on 5 May, 2010 but the Delhi government wrote a letter to Brijender Singh on 4 May under pressure from discoms and stopped him from issuing the order,’ alleged Kejriwal.
‘What was Sheila Dikshit’s interest in stopping that order? And that too just a few hours before the order was to be passed. Only she can answer the question,’ Kejriwal said adding that after Singh’s retirement, Dikshit put her own man PD Sudhakar who ‘turned a blind eye to all the fraud committed by the discoms owned by Tatas and Ambanis. He said Sudhakar was acting as an agent of electricity companies and immediately obliged them by increasing tariffs by 22 per cent in 2011 and by 32 per cent next year.
Alleging the discom companies were fudging their accounts for showing losses and that BSES Yamuna and BSES Rajdhani owned by the Anil Ambani group were showing zero bills for a number of consumers including the Delhi Airport and the Delhi Jal Board, Kejriwal demanded FIRs to be lodged for alleged cheating against the discoms and for the implementation of Brijender Singh’s tariff order and the excess money charged from consumers in the last three years should be refunded to them. He also demanded that Dikshit immediately give her nod for performance and financial audit of discoms by the CAG and sack the current chairman of DERC.
Kejriwal alleged that when former Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) chairman Brijendra Singh tried to reduce tariff by 23 per cent after finding that power firms earned profits of Rs 3,577 crores and not loss of Rs 635 crores as was being projected to increase tariff, power companies went running to the Delhi government in 2010 and Dikshit stopped Singh from issuing the order.
In a statement the Delhi government has claimed all allegations of corruption or malafide intentions made by Kejriwal were contrary to the facts and records. The government claimed it had already been cleared by the High Court in the matter.
‘The then DERC chief Brijender Singh was to pass an order on 5 May, 2010 but the Delhi government wrote a letter to Brijender Singh on 4 May under pressure from discoms and stopped him from issuing the order,’ alleged Kejriwal.
‘What was Sheila Dikshit’s interest in stopping that order? And that too just a few hours before the order was to be passed. Only she can answer the question,’ Kejriwal said adding that after Singh’s retirement, Dikshit put her own man PD Sudhakar who ‘turned a blind eye to all the fraud committed by the discoms owned by Tatas and Ambanis. He said Sudhakar was acting as an agent of electricity companies and immediately obliged them by increasing tariffs by 22 per cent in 2011 and by 32 per cent next year.
Alleging the discom companies were fudging their accounts for showing losses and that BSES Yamuna and BSES Rajdhani owned by the Anil Ambani group were showing zero bills for a number of consumers including the Delhi Airport and the Delhi Jal Board, Kejriwal demanded FIRs to be lodged for alleged cheating against the discoms and for the implementation of Brijender Singh’s tariff order and the excess money charged from consumers in the last three years should be refunded to them. He also demanded that Dikshit immediately give her nod for performance and financial audit of discoms by the CAG and sack the current chairman of DERC.