Capt meets Modi, seeks nod to sell power to Pak, Nepal

Chandigarh : Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Thursday sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to allow the Punjab government to sell surplus power to Pakistan or Nepal in the financial interest of the cash-strapped state.
At an hour-long meeting with Modi here, Amarinder also sought the Centre’s support to make agriculture more sustainable for the state’s farmers by putting in place a “Deficiency Price Payment” mechanism to encourage a shift to non-paddy cultivation, Chief Minister’s media adviser Raveen Thukral said.
Expressing concern over the problems faced by the Punjab farmers living in border areas, Amarinder also requested an increase in the Central government’s compensation for such farmers to ensure effective and stronger border management.The Chief Minister also sought Modi’s intervention to prevent a possible revival of package of concessions to neighbouring states, as it would negate the Punjab government’s efforts to bring in investment, create jobs for the unemployed youths and revive the state’s economy, Thukral said.Pointing to the 1,000 MW surplus power availability in Punjab after meeting its internal demands, the Chief Minister said sale of power to neighbouring Pakistan or Nepal, as the case may be, would save people in Punjab from the burden of any extra taxes and also save the power consumers from the extra burden of fixed cost of power generating units.