PIL mooted against power tariff hike
SHILLONG: Taking a cue from the dramatic success of the Aam Admi Party in Delhi, the newly launched wing of AAP in Meghalaya has also started taking up issues that are of immediate concern of the daily lives of the people.
In Delhi, AAP had started with the issue of supply of free water to the residents. In Meghalaya, AAP has started with the decision to file a public interest litigation against the “arbitrary increase in power charges” by the Meghalaya Energy Corporation Limited (MeECL).
State secretary of AAP Anthony L Lyngdoh said that the party would also seek clarification on how such an increase was made possible when the Corporation’s plea to increase the power tariff was struck down by the Meghalaya State Electricity Regulatory Commission (MSERC) during the Public Meeting on February 25. To institutionalize the mechanism for such protests in the interest of people, AAP would demand for the creation of a PIL cell under Meghalaya High Court in Shillong, he said. Many residents of Shillong have been complaining that the amounts charged in their electricity bills had suddenly gone up.
The state unit of AAP that was formed on January 23 has been quick to latch on to the issue. The national leadership of seems to have taken the Meghalaya unit of the party under its wings from the beginning. Its first meeting was chaired by National Executive Member of AAP and in-charge of Northeast Habung Payeng. Some state leaders of AAP had recently gone to Delhi to meet party chief Arvind Kejriwal.
On the power tariff issue, MSERC chairman Anand Kumar said, however, that the Commission so far had not taken any decision to hike the power tariff. The Commission was merely examining the proposal. “We will give our decision only in the month of April,” he said. Consumer could approach the Commissioner if their bills are found to be unusually high, he said.