Power tariff hike: Karnataka CM meets industrialists, agrees to look into demands

Bengaluru: Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday met various industrialists to address the issue of power tariff hike in the state and the other issues faced by them.

The industrialists' delegation was led by the President of Karnataka Federation of Commerce and Industry (KFCCI), B.V. Gopal Reddy.

The Chief Minister said that it is wrong to say that the Griha Jyothi Scheme is a burden on the state government.

"Our government has not taken any decision on increasing electricity charges. The Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission (KERC) had decided to increase the charges before our government came to power," he told the visiting delegation.

The Chief Minister assured the delegation that a separate meeting will be held between the finance department, energy department, Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KASSIA), and KFCCI to discuss the demands submitted by the delegation.

After the KERC increased power tariff for the industrial sector, the industrialists of the state had appealed to the government to reduce electricity tax to 3 per cent from 9 per cent which is levied on small and medium industries and HT industries.

"We also requested to give discount on fuel escalation charges and also to form an MSME policy which is already in force in other states," the delegation had urged.