From today subsidised electricity given to the people of Delhi will be stopped: Minister Atishi Marlena

This will impact 46 lakh families living in the national capital, Atishi, the minister of Delhi’s power, stated at a press conference.

From Friday, Delhi residents’ electricity bills won’t be subsidized; instead, they’ll be inflated starting on Monday. The Aam Aadmi Party government chose to continue the subsidy for the following year, therefore it stopped the subsidisation policy. According to Delhi Power Minister Atishi, this will have an effect on 46 lakh families who reside in the capital.

“From today, the subsidised electricity given to the people of Delhi will be stopped. This means from tomorrow, the subsidised bills will not be given,” the minister said.

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She continued by saying that because the Delhi Lieutenant Governor is still reviewing the file, the state government cannot release the subsidized bills. The file was given to the L-G a few days ago, according to the Delhi minister, but so far no response has been received.

“Till the file is approved we can’t give subsidy. I even sought time from the LG office to discuss the matter but it’s been more than 24 hours and I have not been given time. The file has also not come back yet,” she stated.

Atishi further stated that the Delhi Assembly has approved the budget for this subsidy. In the Delhi Budget 2023–24, the Kejriwal government allotted a total of Rs 3,250 crore for power subsidy.

With a monthly consumption of 200 units, the AAP government offers free electricity to its consumers. Individuals who consume between 201 and 400 units per month will get a 50% discount, up to a maximum of Rs 850.

The Arvind Kejriwal government has received criticism from the Delhi L-G office for neglecting to audit the Rs 13,459 crore given to private discoms during the previous six years. The L-G office also stated in a statement that the amount given to discoms as part of the power subsidy for the underprivileged must be audited to ensure there is no pilferage.

The Delhi government was questioned by the L-G office for not yet implementing Section 108 of the 2003 Electricity Act, which would have required the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission (DERC) to audit discoms. It further stated that, the audit conducted by the auditors appointed by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) is not a replacement for the CAG audit.

“LG expresses surprise that the Government appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court order quashing the CAG Audit of DISCOMs has been pending for more than 07 years – asks Government to expedite the same by filing an appeal for an urgent hearing,” the statement stated.