Electricity subsidy will not stop.
Electricity subsidy will not stop.
New Delhi: The facility of free electricity for the people of Delhi will continue in future as well. Clearing the controversy and confusion created by the LG over power subsidy, Delhi Energy Minister Atishi on Monday said that the Kejriwal government has no plans to stop power subsidy for any consumer in the state. We are committed to provide 24 hours free power supply. There is not going to be any change in our electricity subsidy. LG office is deliberately spreading misinformation about it. He informed that Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) had withdrawn its advice regarding power subsidy. The then Deputy CM and Minister in-charge of Power Manish Sisodia had written a letter to the DERC Chairman asking him to investigate the entire matter and give a fresh opinion. Because more than two years have passed since the last advice of DERC. On receipt of this request, DERC conducted a detailed legal examination on the matter and submitted a fresh opinion on January 6, 2023.
The government is making a plan for electricity subsidy in the next budget as well.
Atishi said that the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi, Vinay Kumar Saxena, had ordered the Chief Secretary to present the matter of electricity bill subsidy in Delhi to the cabinet and take a decision on it. Only after this the process of giving electricity subsidy in Delhi will be taken forward. The power distribution companies had complained to the Chief Secretary on this matter, stating that the rules of commercial transactions were violated and the fixed subsidy be limited to 5 kW. According to the Electricity Department, the decision to give subsidy on electricity is the jurisdiction of the government. The government is making available funds for subsidy. The budget of the government has more than doubled in the last seven years. In such a situation, it is the jurisdiction of the government that how it uses the budget. The Delhi government has decided to provide free electricity up to 200 units and cheap electricity up to 400 units, which will continue even further. The government is making a plan regarding this in the next budget as well.
LG wants to obstruct the functioning of the government
Citing this detailed order issued by DERC, the Energy Minister questioned the intention of the LG behind such a move. He said that all these documents are in the file. If we know about it, then the LG of Delhi must also know. So how come the LG of Delhi asked the government to change the subsidy policy when he already knew that the advice was legally wrong? Minister Atishi further informed that the government has not received any notice or file from the LG office in this regard. The issue has come to be known only through the media. In such a situation, it is clear that LG wants to obstruct the functioning of the government in any way and is working with malice.
95 percent of the people of Delhi asked for subsidy
After the Chief Minister’s appeal, only about five percent of the people have given up the subsidy on electricity. The figures of the department show that about 95 per cent of the people who were getting free electricity facility in Delhi had applied for subsidy. They will have to apply for subsidy again in the coming days. This time the process will be easier. At the same time, the tariff will also be declared soon. At the same time, the facility of electricity subsidy will not be available in the account. Sources say that for subsidy the amount has to be paid in advance while for DBT facility the amount has to be arranged after the bill is generated.
