25/08/2026
SRINAGAR, Aug 24: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday defended the 6.83 per cent electricity tariff hike, calling it a compulsion for his government, while asserting that the increase was the lowest in recent years.
"During the PDP-BJP coalition government, the power tariff was raised by 14 per cent. Four years earlier, there was a 15 per cent hike. We have only raised the tariff by 6 per cent, and that too after four years," Abdullah told reporters here.
He said the increase was necessitated by rising inflation and prices, adding that the government was working to reduce transmission and distribution losses.
"We increased the tariff at the lowest possible rates. We are not celebrating it; it was a compulsion. The more we reduce the losses, the less we will have to resort to these measures," he said.
Abdullah said his government remained committed to providing 200 units of free electricity to poor and needy households, but had never promised that electricity tariffs would n...