Iqbal Trumboo urges government to take compassionate view in power tariff recovery

Srinagar, Mar 26: In his third address to the media on the issue of power supply being discontinued to people for delay in payment of bills, PDP Spokesperson Muhammad Iqbal Trumboo said that people are not refusing to pay but are asking for time to pay the bills. He said a compassionate view must be taken by the government.

“Targets are not important but the welfare of the people is important. We had asked several times for extension of amnesty for domestic consumers as the earlier order passed in June 2025 did not give people 12 months to repay the outstanding balance but the repayment was curtailed to 7 months only so the time period may be extended,” he said. He said there was an appeal made that amnesty for commercial consumers who are overburdened by the imposition of 18 percent interest on their accumulated liabilities and is driving them into a debt trap must be taken into consideration. “Jal Shakti department has also raised bill for last many years and are demanding payment before 31st March so is the Municipal Corporation demanding its overdues,” he added. “Our per capita income is half the national average while as our unemployment rate is double our national rate besides there has been substantial dropping of income levels in the last 5-6 years. We are actually going through recession and the government is imposing further financial stress on the already burdened people,” said Trumboo.