Chandiga
rh : Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday said his government will soon announce a legal strategy to counter the “ill-conceived” power purchase agreements signed during the SAD-BJP rule which has put an “atrociously unnecessary” financial burden on the state.
A day earlier, Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu had demanded a law to nullify the power purchase agreements as Punjab reeled under an unprecedented power shortage.
After a meeting to review the power supply situation in the state, the chief minister said that of the 139 power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed during the SAD-BJP government, 17 were enough to cater to the state”s full electricity demand.
The remaining 122 PPAs for 1,314 MW of “expensive power were inexplicably signed, putting an unnecessary financial burden” on the state, he said in a statement here.
Singh said that a carefully charted legal course of action was being formulated to save Punjab from further financial losses due to the “ill-conceived” PPAs signed by the Badals during the SAD-BJP rule.
The chief minister”s statement came days after a three-member All India Congress Committee panel on resolving infighting in the state unit of the party had asked Singh to deliver on 18 pending poll promises, including action on PPAs.
Notably, the Congress, before coming to power in 2017, had promised that it would renegotiate the existing PPAs to ensure low-cost power.