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Journalism of Courage
HYDERABAD, OCT 16: A division bench of Andhra Pradesh High Court, comprising Justice P Venkatram Reddy and Justice S R Naik, on Monday dismissed a bunch of writ petitions questioning the recent hike in power tariff for agriculture and domestic sectors.
The bench found the petitions, filed by S Bharat Kumar, practicing advocate of the High Court and others, devoid of any merit and hence dismissed them.
The bench, however, observed that the hike in first two slabs were “very steep and harsh” and drew government’s attention to that. But it left it open to the government to consider and take appropriate steps in this regard in the light of the observation of the court.
Meanwhile, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) state secretary B V Raghavulu has said the Andhra Pradesh High Court’s observation on recent hike in power tariff was really a `moral support’ to Left and other parties who were agitating demanding the state government to roll back the hike.
Raghavulu who was on his way to Trivandrum to attend the party’s national committee meeting told newspersons here that the High Court’s observation that the hike in first two slabs were “very steep and harsh” which invited “the government’s attention itself is a moral support to us and at least now the government will try to bring down the tariff and give more subsidies to farmers and consumers who come under the 50 to 200 slab.”
He said though it was not a direction to the government it had amply proved that the hike of 15 per cent was harsh.
Referring to state finance minister’s statement that the Left parties were trying to project the World Bank as `devil’ was not correct. “Most of the developing countries world all over, who are facing problems, have expressed their opinions and some even wanted the institutions like World Bank and International Monetary Fund to be abolished.”
