JOIN USProtesting the meagre units of electricity allocated to Karnataka from the national grid under the un-allotted quota, state Energy Minister Shobha Karandlaje accused the Centre of bias on Saturday.
Karandlaje told reporters that the Union Power Ministry has ignored the plea of the state government for the allocation of power under un-allotted quota but distributed electricity under the same quota among Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
Karandlaje, who met Power Minister Veerappa Moily along with Karnataka Chief Minister Jagadish Shettar on Saturday, said she has brought the disparity to the notice of the former.
"We have asked the Centre to increase the power allocation to Karnataka because the state is getting only 1,674 MW from national grid, while our neighbouring states Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh are getting more than 3,000 MW," she said.
She also complained about the tardy progress in the construction of transmission network between the western grid and southern grid, which, she said, has hampered the state’s plans of getting power from northern states.
“Because of the absence of a direct corridor, we are not able to get power from North India. Therefore, Karnataka gets only 40 per cent of the required power,” she added.
The minister also demanded more coal blocks and coal linkages to make operational the 2,700-MW thermal power plants being set up jointly with Chhatisgarh government.
The delegation also met Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh in New Delhi and sought his cooperation in starting the proposed joint venture power project.