Power cess will not be hiked in Chandigarh, Mayor Kuldeep Kumar confirmed on Thursday. A day after the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation circulated an agenda to discuss the cess hike on power, the Union Territory (UT) Chandigarh mayor directed various officials to withdraw it. The agenda now stands withdrawn and will not be discussed in the upcoming meeting of the civic body.
While confirming the development to The Indian Express, Kumar said: “I have directed the commissioner to withdraw the agenda. No power cess shall be hiked”. When quizzed on how the agenda arrived, the mayor said somehow it got “misinterpreted”.
On Wednesday, the agenda item was circulated to be brought for discussion in the House meeting of the municipal corporation (MC) scheduled for Saturday, in which the Chandigarh administrator will also be in attendance.
“Since the MC is experiencing a financial crunch at present, it is exploring sources of revenue generation. It is, therefore, proposed that the municipal cess on electricity consumption can be enhanced from 10 paise per unit to 16 paise per unit on the pattern of Punjab state,” the agenda item had stated.
The MC has stated that it had imposed municipal cess on electricity consumption within its limits at 10 paise per unit in December 2019, which is contributing to an earning of Rs 15-16 crore per annum. With the hike to 16 paise per unit, the corporation was expecting an increase of the revenue to Rs 22 crore per annum.
The municipal tax in Punjab is being charged at the rate of 2 per cent on electricity consumption, which approximately comes out to be 16 paise per unit and in Haryana, it is being charged at 8 paise per unit.
After reports of the cess hike, there was widespread criticism. The Congress too said it would oppose the agenda.
A few months ago even power tariff was hiked
A few months ago, the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) had approved a tariff hike of 9.4 per cent for the financial year 2024-2025 for electricity consumption in Chandigarh with effect from August 1. As per the mandate of the Electricity Act, 2003, the power tariff is regulated and determined by the JERC after taking into account the cost of power purchases, revenue realisation, and other expenditure to ensure the sustainability of power.
