New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Monday claimed that Delhi Lt. Governor V.K. Saxena pressurised the Power Department to withdraw the power subsidy based on flawed legal advice.
“Under pressure from the PMO to stop the power subsidy in Delhi, the L-G had instructed the Power Department to withdraw Delhi Government’s power subsidy based on flawed legal advice,” Delhi PWD Minister Atishi said.
“Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is committed towards providing 24×7 free electricity to the people of Delhi. Our power subsidy is not going to be altered. The L-G office is deliberately spreading misinformation regarding it,” she said.
Atishi said that the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) had withdrawn its advice regarding the Power Subsidy back in January 2023.
Former Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had written to the DERC Chairman with a request to re-examine the issue and provide a fresh opinion on the matter since more than two years had elapsed since DERC’s last advice.
The DERC upon receiving this request, carried out a detailed legal examination on the matter and placed its fresh opinion through an order January 6, 2023 retracting its prior ‘statutory advice’, on legal grounds.
In its detailed order, the DERC pointed out that as per Section 86(2) of Delhi Electricity Act, 2003, the commission can advise the government only on four defined matters.
The matters include “promotion of competition, efficiency and economy in activities of the electricity industry; promotion of investment in electricity industry; reorganisation and restructuring of electricity industry in the state; and matters concerning generation, transmission, distribution and trading of electricity or any other matter referred to the State Commission by that government”.
The issue of Power Subsidy does not fall into any four of the specific areas under Section 86 (2) of the Act and instead comes under Section 65 of the Act, which is the exclusive domain of the State government.
Thus the Commission concluded that its prior advice regarding the subsidy was legally incorrect and without jurisdiction.
Atishi said that given the very fact that the DERC does not have any jurisdiction to oversee power subsidy, its advice on the matter is misplaced and incorrect.
“Realising the discrepancy, DERC itself clarified that their previous statutory advice stands null and void as of date.”
–IANS