Daijiworld Media Network - Bengaluru
Bengaluru, April 26: In a scathing attack on the Congress-led Karnataka government, the state BJP on Saturday demanded an immediate withdrawal of the mandatory smart meter installation plan, calling it an “anti-people” measure and accusing the government of overcharging citizens with rates as high as Rs 10,000.
State BJP president B Y Vijayendra stated that the Karnataka High Court had strongly criticised the Congress government for placing an undue financial burden on the poor under the guise of smart meter digitisation.
“The Congress government, through one of its guarantee schemes called Gruha Jyothi, had given an unrealistic guarantee of providing up to 200 units of free electricity to everyone, but had imposed several conditions for eligibility,” he said.
“However, after the implementation of the scheme, as the energy department neared bankruptcy, the government, instead of addressing the crisis, continued to burden consumers by steadily increasing electricity tariffs. Now, the government has made the installation of smart meters mandatory, fixing a hefty price of Rs 10,000 per meter, a decision the High Court has criticised and stayed,” Vijayendra added.
The BJP leader further alleged that the actual cost of these smart meters is around Rs 2,000, but the government was charging consumers up to Rs 10,000, which he described as an act of “looting” the public.
“The Congress-led Karnataka government is being questioned—did anyone ask for free electricity at this cost? What will happen to the plight of the poor? The High Court has raised serious concerns over this. Even now, I urge this government to abandon its anti-people decisions and instead focus on citizen-centric programmes,” Vijayendra said.
The Karnataka High Court, on April 25, issued an interim stay restraining the Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (Bescom) and the state government from enforcing the mandatory implementation of smart meters.
The court's order came in response to a petition filed by M Jayalakshmi, a resident of Doddaballapura town, who had challenged Bescom’s directive requiring payment of Rs 8,900 for the installation of smart meters.
The counsel representing the petitioner informed the court that in states such as Andhra Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh, the installation of smart meters cost only Rs 900, while the Karnataka government was charging nearly ten times more.
“The court had rapped the state government and questioned whether the government is facing problems due to giving freebies.”
“Who asked for free electricity? This smart meter installation cost should have been reduced. And you have outsourced it. This is dangerous. You are quenching all the poor people. Where should the poor go?” the High Court bench asked, expressing its displeasure with the government’s approach.