Raut said the Union government was privatizing the power supplies during the lockout. (File)
Mumbai:
Maharashtra Minister of Energy Nitin Raut on Friday demanded that the Center take all states with confidence over the 2020 Electricity Bill (amendment).
Speaking at a meeting by videoconference organized by the Ministry of Power of the Union in the presence of the chief ministers and the ministers of energy, Mr. Raut affirmed that the bill violated the constitutional mandate and undermined the federal structure.
Raut said the EU government was privatizing power supplies during the lockout and was seeking to give a “back door” to private entities in the electricity sector by amending the Electricity Law.
Raut said the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL) had suffered losses as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic and asked the center for a grant of 10,000 crore rupees.
He said subsidies should be released for the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan (PM-KUSUM) program, under which the state government will provide farmers with 1 lakh pumps per year over the next five years. .
During the conference, Union Minister RK Singh appreciated Maharashtra for the 100% implementation of Kusum Yojana and asked other states to do the same.
Singh also said that electrical equipment made by China and Pakistan would be banned and that 25% of import duties would be imposed.
Mr. Raut told Mr. Singh that Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) supplied poor quality coal which, in turn, seriously affected electricity generation.
Raut said Mahagenco had asked the WCL to allocate dedicated coal mines, but that the latter received mine-specific charges, which had increased the cost of generating electricity.
Mr. Singh promised to examine the matter and said that another meeting would be held to discuss the lifting of the mine specific charges.
