Agartala, Oct 16, 2023, TRIPURATIMES Desk

Agartala, Oct 16: The opposition CPI-M on Monday castigated the BJP led coalition government in Tripura for increasing the power tariff hike in the state and said that presently the Tripura State Electricity Corporation Ltd. (TSECL) is reeling under acute debt.

Addressing a mass demonstration of the party here infront of the TSECL office at Agartala, the former minister of the then Left front government Manik Dey said, “The present government made several attempts to seek hike in power tariff from the regulatory commission since 2018, but despite several objections from various stakeholders, the government managed to increase the tariff with the intervention of the regulatory commission.”

“There was no requirement of increasing power tariff in the state, as government could have adopt different policy to bring a control over power theft cases across the state and ensure 100 per cent bill connection rather than putting burden on the consumers with the tariff hike,” he opined, adding that the last tariff hike took place in the year 2014 during the time of then Left front government.

He continued castigating the government and alleged that the power sector is being pushed towards privatization. He alleged, “The power sector of the state is deteriorating with the TSECL reeling under acute debt. Moreover, the power generation from the state units has declined since 2018.”

The CPI-M however demanded the government to repeal the decision of power tariff hike and ensure proper infrastructure across the state.