PANAJI
Coming down heavily on Pramod Sawant, AAP Goa convenor Rahul Mhambre slammed the BJP over high water bills.
In a press release, AAP stated that Mhambre put the blame on woes Goenkars have to face on the step of the CM and added that Sawant can't even copy Kejriwal properly.
In August a panicked Sawant government had announced free water of 16,000 litres to Goenkars as he faced heat with Arvind Kejriwal's Veej guarantee. His ham-handed attempt to copy the Delhi CM met with ridicule across the state. The Sawant government could not provide any rationale as to why they chose such an arbitrary amount of units. And the AAP warned them that this would lead to inflated bills, the release added.
AAP further stated that as September rolled in, many Goenkars complained about high bills. The matter started reaching a boiling point in October as many started receiving bills in thousands and lakhs. It's clear that the Sawant government has found a new way to loot Goenkars while making tall claims to the world. Just on Friday, Pramod Sawant himself admitted that the inflated bills were due to an error by the Water Department. Is this just a way to save face?
While the Sawant government has asked users to not pay inflated bills and promised refunds he has as usual not given any timelines. In the meanwhile, Goenkars are facing stubborn administrative officers and the spectre of disconnection. How can Goenkars trust a government that has time and again proved they just want to loot Goenkars? AAP questioned.
In October, AAP Goa convenor Rahul Mhambre led a gherao of the Mapusa PWD with residents who were frustrated and facing serious problems with their bills. Many of the protesters were from small houses which don’t have many family members receiving astronomical bills with officials not willing to fix them. Things seem to have gone from bad to worse in the last two months with Goenkars receiving bills in lakhs, the press release stated.
"In October when AAP led a Gherao of the PWD office in Mapusa, I was shocked to meet a widow who received a bill of a whopping Rs 48,000. Now Pramod Sawant says this was a mistake and is blaming the bureaucracy, but refusing to take any responsibility," said AAP Goa convenor Rahul Mhambre.
"It is time that Pramod Sawant take up the onus and immediately refund the amount to Goenkars," added Mhambre.
