White paper on PPAs signed by SAD-BJP govt almost ready, will be released soon: Amarinder Singh

The white paper on the power purchase agreements (PPAs) signed by the previous SAD-BJP government is almost ready and it will be tabled in Punjab Assembly soon, Chief Minister Amarinder Singh informed the House on Tuesday. The chief minister had in January announced his government's intention to bring out the white paper to expose the alleged fraud committed by the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) in signing the PPAs with private players during its tenure with the BJP.

The main opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had sought scrapping of the PPAs signed by the SAD-BJP government.

"Work has been done on this (white paper) but more needs to be done," Singh said during the debate on the state budget.

The chief minister, who waved a copy of a draft of the white paper in the House, said it will be released soon. The existing PPAs need to be thrashed out, he added. The Akalis in turn have accused the Congress-led state government of putting additional burden on consumers by increasing power tariff.

They have also accused the government of striking "underhand deals" with the management of private thermal plants which resulted in a loss of Rs 4,100 crore to the state exchequer. Power rates in Punjab were increased by 36 paise per unit from January 1 for domestic consumers.