Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal stated on Thursday that beginning October 1, an electricity subsidy would be available only to those who request it. The decision was taken by the Delhi cabinet.
Speaking at a press conference, ‘Many people get free electricity for which the Delhi government gives free subsidy. Time and again, I get suggestions and letters from people saying it’s good that you’re giving us free electricity, but since some of us are capable, we don’t want free subsidy and free electricity. You can use this money to set up schools and hospitals’.
He further added, ‘So, we have decided that we will give people an option. We will ask them if they want electricity subsidy. If they say yes, we will give it to them. If they say no, we will not give it to them. This process of asking people will start soon, and from October 1, a subsidy will be provided only for those who ask for it’.
Domestic users now get subsidies in two forms: those who use up to 200 units per month receive a 100 percent subsidy, while those who use 201-400 units receive a payment of up to Rs 800. There are currently 30,39,766 customers in the first group and 16,59,976 consumers in the second.
A senior official in the Power Department said the details of what consumers would have to do to qualify for a subsidy are still being worked out. ‘There’s no clarity as such. We are trying to prepare an SOP. This is going to be implemented in October, so there is still some time. Maybe within a week or so, there will be some clarity. We will be working out a system by which we can obtain the consent of people who want to avail of a subsidy’, the official said.
There are 58,18,231 electrical user connections in Delhi. Domestic users, anti-Sikh riot victims, agricultural consumers, and attorneys whose chambers are within the court complex are all eligible for power subsidies from the Delhi government. According to the administration, the number of subsidised connections in the state totals 47,16,075 people.
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The news comes as the country faces a power crisis caused by a lack of coal, forcing Delhi Power Minister Satyendar Jain to write to the Centre last week to express his worries about the coal stock at the NTPC power plants that supply energy to the capital.
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