Gruha Jyoti scheme not cause of power tariff hike; cost not passed on to others: CM Siddaramaiah
Bengaluru (PTI): Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday dismissed allegations that the hike in power tariff has anything to do with the 'Gruha Jyoti' scheme that offers up to 200 units of free power for residential use every month.
He said there is a wrong notion that the burden of 'Gruha Jyoti' has been passed on to others.
"It is wrong to think that the burden of Gruha Jyoti Yojana has been put on others," Siddaramaiah told a delegation of Federation of Karnataka Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI). The delegation led by its President B V Gopal Reddy met the CM at his home office 'Krishna'.
Siddaramaiah, however, assured that he would look into the demands put forth by the FKCCI, which apprised him of the hardships being faced by traders and industries due to the "exorbitant" hike in power tariff.
The CM clarified that the hike was not done by his government but the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission, and added that the decision on tariff increase was taken by the KERC even before his party came to power.
He assured the delegation that an appropriate decision would be taken after holding separate meetings with the finance and energy departments, Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA) and FKCCI.
The FKCCI members appealed to the CM to reduce the hike in power tariff for small and medium industries from nine per cent to three per cent.
They also requested Siddaramaiah to provide concession on Fuel Escalation Charges (FEC) and suggested that a policy for the Medium, Small and Micro Enterprises (MSME), as has been formulated in some other states, be drawn up in Karnataka.
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Another North Goa nightclub sealed; Kejriwal says corruption led to fire tragedy
Panaji (PTI): As part of a crackdown against tourist establishments violating laws and safety norms in the aftermath of the Arpora fire tragedy, Goa authorities on Saturday sealed a renowned club at Vagator and revoked the fire department NOC of another club.
Cafe CO2 Goa, located on a cliff overlooking the Arabian Sea at Vagator beach in North Goa, was sealed. The move came two days after Goya Club, also in Vagator, was shut down for alleged violations of rules.
Elsewhere, campaigning for local body polls, AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said the fire incident at Birch by Romeo Lane nightclub at Arpora, which claimed 25 lives on December 6, happened because the BJP government in the state was corrupt.
An inspection of Cafe CO2 Goa by a state government-appointed team revealed that the establishment, with a seating capacity of 250, did not possess a no-objection certificate (NOC) of the Fire and Emergency Services Department. The club, which sits atop Ozrant Cliff, also did not have structural stability, the team found.
The Fire and Emergency Services on Saturday also revoked the NOC issued to Diaz Pool Club and Bar at Anjuna as the fire extinguishers installed in the establishment were found to be inadequate, said divisional fire officer Shripad Gawas.
A notice was issued to Nitin Wadhwa, the partner of the club, he said in the order.
Campaigning at Chimbel village near Panaji in support of his party's Zilla Panchayat election candidate, Aam Aadmi Party leader Kejriwal said the nightclub fire at Arpora happened because of the "corruption of the Pramod Sawant-led state government."
"Why this fire incident happened? I read in the newspapers that the nightclub had no occupancy certificate, no building licence, no excise licence, no construction licence or trade licence. The entire club was illegal but still it was going on," he said.
"How could it go on? Couldn't Pramod Sawant or anyone else see it? I was told that hafta (bribe) was being paid," the former Delhi chief minister said.
A person can not work without bribing officials in the coastal state, Kejriwal said, alleging that officers, MLAs and even ministers are accepting bribes.
