Yogi Adityanath calls for 'comprehensive reform' as Akhilesh Yadav slams power crisis

Amid a power crisis in the state along with other states in the country, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Monday called for "comprehensive" reform in the sector, tasking the department to come up with a plan for changes at each level, even as Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav attacked the government for its handling, especially for not augmenting the power creation capacity after the SP's rule and "burdening" the public with the expense.

While the CM also called for a one-time settlement (OTS) scheme to be brought in to encourage people to clear their pending dues, Yadav asked the government to waive pending electricity dues from April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2022 in light of the distress faced by the public during the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to an estimate, the state is able to supply 20,800 MW electricity against the demand of 23,000 MW. According to information shared by the office of AK Sharma, minister for urban development and energy in UP, an additional one million metric tonnes of coal was decided to be supplied by road along with by rail to Anpara Thermal Power Station that has a capacity of 2,630 MW. Sharma has also been conducting "surprise inspections" of substations.


On Monday, the CM Yogi called for "comprehensive reforms" in the power sector and also laid stress on encouraging people for timely payment of electricity bills, aided by receipt of the right bills at the right time. He said there is a need for special effort in the rural areas to increase efficiencies in billing and collection agencies. The heat of the power crisis, which comes along with a larger national crisis, has also been felt by the BJP's own representatives. Dinesh Pratap Singh, minister of state (independent charge), wrote a letter to Sharma last month complaining people of his MLC region in Raebareli are severely distressed due to the extreme power cuts, appealing to Sharma to bring supply back to its older levels. Ganesh Chauhan, BJP MLA from Dhanghata assembly constituency had also issued a video statement to "buy time from them" in solving the crisis.