States » NorthPosted at: Oct 21 2026 4:54PM


Hooda attacks Haryana power privatisation move, warns of higher bills for farmers and poor

New Delhi, Oct 21 (UNI) Former Haryana chief minister and leader of opposition Bhupinder Singh Hooda on Wednesday opposed the move to allow private electricity distribution in Gurugram and Nuh, alleging that the BJP government was favouring private companies at the expense of farmers, poorer households and public-sector power utilities.
In a statement issued here, Hooda said the parallel distribution licence granted to Eleven Power Private Limited could undermine the finances of Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN), weaken subsidised supply and threaten employees’ jobs.
“The BJP government is working for private companies. Privatisation of electricity distribution will impose a further burden on consumers, with farmers and the poor suffering the most,” he said.
Hooda said Congress would firmly oppose the move alongside electricity employees. His criticism formed part of a wider attack on the BJP government’s record as it completed 12 years in office in Haryana.
He claimed that Gurugram accounted for nearly one-third of DHBVN’s revenue and warned that losing lucrative consumers to a private distributor could leave the public utility struggling to serve rural households and agricultural users.
Private operators could concentrate on industrial, commercial and urban consumers, leaving DHBVN responsible for less profitable categories without sufficient revenue, he alleged.
Hooda also questioned the proposed separation of agricultural consumers into an agriculture-focused distribution company, alleging that it could pave the way for a gradual withdrawal of farm power subsidies. He said the Congress government had supplied agricultural electricity at 10 paise a unit.
The move could affect the services of electricity employees and engineers and expose them to retrenchment, he added.
Turning to agriculture, Hooda alleged that inadequate government procurement was forcing farmers to sell paddy about Rs 400 a quintal below the minimum support price and bajra Rs 800–900 below it. Moong growers were suffering losses of Rs 1,500–1,600 a quintal against the MSP, he claimed.
“The BJP promised a paddy price of Rs 3,100 a quintal in the 2024 election, but farmers are now struggling even to sell their crop at MSP,” he said.
He also alleged inadequate lifting of fertiliser supplies. Against an October allocation of 3.5 lakh metric tonnes of urea, the state had lifted only 67,000 tonnes, while DAP lifting stood at 38,000 tonnes against an allocation of 1.5 lakh tonnes, according to the figures cited in his statement.
Questioning the government’s investment record, Hooda said the 2016 Gurugram investors’ summit had yielded 359 memoranda of understanding involving proposed investment of Rs 5.84 lakh crore, but the government had subsequently claimed investment of only Rs 20,300 crore.
He accused the BJP of failing to fulfil promises on employment and financial assistance to women, alleging that restrictive eligibility conditions had excluded many women from its Rs 2,100 assistance pledge. Around two lakh government posts remained vacant, he claimed.
Hooda further alleged that Haryana’s debt had risen from about Rs 70,000 crore when Congress left office in 2014 to Rs 5.5 lakh crore under BJP rule. He cited figures and rankings on unemployment, education, policing, corruption and industrial activity to argue that the state’s performance had deteriorated.
UNI KK RSA
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