Amritsar (Punjab): A day after Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu offered a solution to the unprecedented power crisis in Punjab, reports of him allegedly owing over Rs 8.67 lakh in pending bills for eight months to the state power utility have come to light.
"I'm not aware of the issue. Sub Divisional Officers must have known. No special relaxation was given to him. We will investigate the issue," said Chief Engineer, Power Department, Amritsar.
Earlier on Friday, Navjot Singh Sidhu had attacked Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and said that the state government would not have to go for power cuts "if we act in the right direction".
In a series of tweets, Sidhu said that the Punjab Vidhan Sabha can bring in new legislation to amend the Power Purchase Agreements signed by the Badal government which are responsible for the high electricity rates in the state.
The Congress leader said that Punjab is buying power at an average cost of Rs 4.54 per unit, while the national average is Rs 3.85 per unit and Chandigarh is paying Rs 3.44 per unit.
The state government on Thursday ordered reduction in timings of state government offices from Friday and cut down on power supply to high energy consuming industries.
The CM had also appealed to all government offices to make judicious use of electricity in government offices, adding that the situation was dire as the peak demand in the state had touched a whopping 14,500 MW.
The differences between Sidhu and the Punjab Chief Minister have been rife for some time.
Party sources on Thursday said that Congress is keen to put its house in order in the state before the Assembly elections next year and a series of meetings have been held over the past few weeks to resolve factionalism and other problems.
