New Delhi: Hitting out at the government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi over long power cuts across the country, Congress on Friday alleged that the central government's misgovernance and mismanagement have led to this "artificial" crisis in the scorching summer.
While addressing a Press conference, Congress spokesperson Gourav Vallabh alleged that the Modi government was not providing logistical support for coal distribution to power plants across the country which has worsened the power crisis situation.
The Modi government cannot run away from its responsibility and blame states for all the problems in the country, Vallabh said, adding that 16 states in the country are forced to have daily power cuts of up to 10 hours and power stations with 72,074 MW capacity are not operating due to non-availability of coal even though there is no shortage of it.
The Congress leader also claimed that 106 of the total 173 power plants are having less than 25 per cent of their usual reserve and states are being forced to buy power as high as Rs 12 per MW.
Vallabh further said, "The ministries of power, coal and railways should sit together and find a solution to the current crisis. These ministries are not doing their job properly, leading to this situation, he alleged. He also claimed that industrial production is also being hit due to the power crisis. This power crisis is artificial as it's due to poor governance and poor management in coal distribution. This is purely misgovernance."
"Why are these power plants not operating? Why are states being forced to buy power at Rs 12 per MW? Against the daily demand of 22 lakh tonnes of coal, why only 16 lakh tonnes are being supplied. What is the government's plan to cater to the peak power demand and resolve the current power crisis," he asked.
However, Vallabh said that the Modi government cannot run away from its responsibility and blame the states for all the problems in the country.
"If the states are to be blamed for everything, then what is the central government's job," he asked.
"We demand that the artificial1 power crisis due to the mismanagement of coal supply is resolved soon," he said, noting that even a state like Jharkhand, which has coal mines, is facing over 17.5 per cent shortage of power.
The Congress leader also said that Rajasthan is facing a power shortage of 9.6 per cent, while Uttar Pradesh has a shortage of 9 per cent, Haryana 7.7 per cent and Uttarakhand 7.6 per cent.
Vallabh asked if the government is claiming that there is no shortage of coal in the country, then why Uttar Pradesh is supplying power for only four hours in a day.
The demand for power is expected to rise further in the coming days as the weather department has predicted that the heatwave sweeping through the country will intensify.