Industry feels cheated by Cong

Shivani Bhakoo

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, March 20

Industry is up in arms against the state government for levying hefty power charges on industrial units. The business community feels that the state government had “cheated” them as in the Congress manifesto, it was clearly mentioned that power would be provided to industry at cheaper rates. Today, the industry was getting power at the rate of Rs 8.50 per unit while the Congress government had promised Rs 5 per unit.

The Finance Secretary of the Wire Drying Federation of Punjab, Krishan Thapar, said the state government should fulfil its promise of providing power at Rs 5 per unit. A two-part tariff policy and fixed charges for different categories have been imposed by the government. “The industry is already going through a rough phase as there are no VAT/GST refunds from the government’s side. Instead of providing relief in the form of cheap power to the industry, high power charges are levied on it,” said Thapar.

Another hosiery manufacturer, Sanjay Mukul, said in one of radio programmes, he recently listened to a conversation in which a leading industrialist from Ludhiana had expressed gratitude towards the state government for providing power at the rate of Rs 5 per unit to industrial units coming up in the state.

“But why is this benefit given to the new industry alone? What is the fault of the existing industry, which has already invested crores in the state and which is providing jobs to a large number of people? This step-motherly treatment should not be there and power should be given at the rate of Rs 5 per unit to the entire industry,” he said .