The opposition Congress on Wednesday said adopting the Gujarat model by the Assam government in the power sector will “totally destroy” the state-run companies and people will have to bear huge costs due to privatisation.
Addressing a press conference here, Assam Congress President Ripun Bora said the Gujarat model is “outdated and totally faulted”.
“The Assam government is now looking at that state. Gujarat and Assam are completely different as we do not have any big industry here. The government has a minority stake in power companies in Gujarat, while the Assam government owns the power distribution firms,” Bora said.
Adopting the Gujarat model will “totally destroy” power companies in Assam and the public will also bear the brunt of privatisation, the Rajya Sabha MP said. The power sector in Assam has been divided into three government-controlled companies – Assam Power Generation Corp Ltd (APGCL), Assam Electricity Grid Corp Ltd (AEGCL), and Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL).
On Tuesday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said that the Assam government will try to replicate the Gujarat model in the power sector along with its state-of-the-art technological interventions to turn three power companies into profitable ventures.
