Nitish's power sop: 125 units free to all houses

PATNA: Bihar CM Nitish Kumar announced Thursday 125 units of free electricity, unwrapping a potential no-bill bonanza ahead of assembly polls for an estimated 91% of households which consume less than the threshold. The move follows promises of 200 units of free electricity by rival and former deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav of RJD, which leads opposition INDIA bloc in the state.

Nitish made the announcement through his official social media handle. “All domestic consumers will get 100% subsidy on 125 units of power from Aug 1... It will benefit 1.67 crore families,” he said.

Bihar has around 1.82 crore power consumers, deputy CM Samrat Choudhary of BJP revealed at a press conference later. “Among these households, an estimated 1.67 crore (91%) are known to consume less than 125 units. They will enjoy a golden time as a result of the CM’s announcement,” he said.

As per the deputy CM, the benefits will cost the state an additional Rs 3,000 crore. “So far, govt has been bearing an annual expenditure of about Rs 16,000 crore for power subsidy. The new scheme will raise the amount to more than Rs 19,000 crore,” said Choudhary, who is also the state’s finance minister.

To mitigate the financial impact of free power , Nitish announced that govt will promote solar energy through two schemes where a 50% central subsidy was provided for rooftop solar panels and associated equipment. Choudhary said the state intended to achieve a target of 10,000MW solar power in next three years, tapping PM’s Surya Ghar Yojana. Reminded about NDA’s earlier stand of ‘no freebies’, Choudhary said “we are not using the word free (muft). It is a 100% subsidy.”

(With PTI inputs)