Harish Rao tears into Bhatti over power crisis, Rs 5,420 crore true-up burden

Harish Rao attacked the Telangana government over the Rs 5,420-crore true-up burden, questioned Bhatti Vikramarka’s claims on power supply and coal availability, and demanded withdrawal of the charges. He warned that the BRS would launch a public agitation if they remained

Hyderabad: BRS Legislature Party deputy leader T Harish Rao on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka for evading questions on the Rs 5,420-crore true-up burden and failing to address the State’s power crisis. Asking why Bhatti had not answered his questions on the true-up charges, he demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Rs 5,420-crore burden.

He reiterated that the BRS would launch a public agitation if the charges were not withdrawn. He also demanded that the government put an end to power cuts instead of targeting the opposition for raising people’s issues.

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In a strong rebuttal to Bhatti Vikramarka’s remarks, Harish Rao questioned how the government could claim uninterrupted power supply when farmers were staging protests outside substations and on roads seeking power. He said the Congress government’s administrative failures had resulted in both power and irrigation shortages. He asked why the Deputy Chief Minister remained silent on the plight of farmers in the State.

“Instead of withdrawing the true-up charges or at least owning up to the decision taken by his government, Bhatti Vikramarka kept the onus of explanation on the officials sitting next to him at the press conference. How can he justify the true-up burden on the people of the State?” he asked.

The former Minister challenged Bhatti Vikramarka’s claims on coal supplies to the Yadadri Thermal Power Plant, citing a 2018 Union Coal Ministry allocation of 14 million tonnes per annum of G-9 grade coal from Singareni mines. He sought to know why the Deputy Chief Minister had misled people with claims that the Yadadri Thermal Power Plant had no dedicated coal allocation during the BRS rule.

He said the Congress government was blaming the previous BRS regime for its failure to ensure adequate coal stocks and operate the thermal power stations at full capacity.

Questioning the government’s El Niño explanation, he alleged that thermal power units totalling 3,000 MW at Yadadri, 540 MW at Bhadradri and 800 MW at KTPS were not being operated. He also questioned why the government was generating only 89 million units against an overall capacity of 140 million units.

Harish Rao raised questions over mandating site-visit certification for Singareni coal tenders, the proposed supply of 800 MW of Singareni power to Rajasthan and the rejection of an NTPC offer to supply 1,600 MW without any upfront investment. “These decisions are nothing but callousness and detrimental to the State’s power requirements,” he added.

He also sought disclosure of the alleged proposal for an Energy Reforms Committee to examine IPOs and fresh borrowings by power-sector entities. He accused the government of creating conditions for privatisation and said employees had protested against the outsourcing of coal and ash-handling operations at the Yadadri plant.