Manish Tiwari: The decision on electricity rates in Chandigarh is arbitrary

Chandigarh: Questioning Chandigarh’s governance model, MP Manish Tewari has criticised the UT administration for taking “arbitrary” decisions that affect the public “without consulting the people or public representatives”. “It is unfortunate that the Chandigarh administration did not hold any public consultation with either public representatives, civil society or resident welfare associations before proposing a 19% hike in power tariff to the Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission. This is a retrograde step,” Tewari said. He said neither the 35 elected councillors nor the MP were consulted.

“Were the 35 elected Municipal Corporation House members consulted, as this is the only representative arrangement in Chandigarh? The answer is no. Was the sitting MP Kirron Kher consulted? The answer is no. Was the elected MP Manish Tewari consulted? The answer is no,” he questioned in a post on Twitter. “This is what is wrong with Chandigarh’s governance model, which I had raised repeatedly during the elections,” the Congress MP said. The former Union minister had been lobbying for making Chandigarh a city-state without disturbing the status quo of the Union Territory during his campaign for the Chandigarh Lok Sabha seat.