NEW DELHI: A BJP Rajya Sabha member on Monday suggested uniform electricity tariffs across the country to ensure affordable power for all.
Raising the issue during the Zero Hour in the House, Swait Malik of the BJP highlighted that power tariffs varies across states.
He said while one has to pay Rs 8 per unit of electricity in Punjab, consumers in neighbouring states of Himachal Pradesh and Jammu and Kashmir were paying much less.
Malik said because of high power tariff, poor people in Punjab are forced to switch off appliances like fan to save money. He also said that industrial units were migrating from
the state due to high cost of power. The BJP member said like GST, one nation one tax, there should be ‘one nation, one electricity tariff’.
In the Union Budget presented in the Lok Sabha on July 5, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had outlined a ‘one nation, one grid’ initiative to bring affordable power to all the states.
Chairman M Venkaiah Naidu said electricity was a state subject and there has to be some consensus for uniform power tariffs.
In his Zero Hour mention, P Bhattacharya (Cong) talked about illegal coal mining in the country and demanded a CBI inquiry to find out people behind such activities.
He said many labourers work in illegal mines and they do not even get compensation. Earlier T Subbarami Reddy of Congress highlighted the issue of increasing road accidents in the country and demanded
that a committee be set up for improving road alignments. The senior Congress member also suggested that scientific enquiry should be conducted into fatal accidents.
Surendra Singh Nagar (SP) suggested that automobile companies should be asked to invest their Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) funds in training of drivers.
BJP member Vijay Goel said the problem of pollution, traffic jams and lack of parking facilities were on the rise in the national capital.
He said redevelopment of several housing societies was required at the earliest or else Delhi would soon become a slum.
Congress member Ripun Bora highlighted problems being faced by people in Assam due to floods. He demanded that the Centre should release calamity relief fund and disaster relief fund to the state. Bora also demanded that the flood situation in the state, which is a recurring issue, should be declared a national problem.
AGP member Birendra Prasad Baishya informed the House that while the state was faced with floods, people were facing shortage of drinking water.
L Hanumanthaiah (Cong) said there is a need to appoint sportsmen and women in public sector enterprises. He suggested that government must give directions to its departments to employ at least national level athletes and especially those who come from a humble background. Vikas Mahatme (BJP) talked about unequal distribution of resources and need to control population. (AGENCIES)
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