PATNA: Making a veiled attack on his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal on the concept of providing free electricity, Bihar CM Nitish Kumar on Wednesday said some people keep advocating to provide free electricity to consumers, but such people have no other work to do, so they keep talking about such things.
Without taking the name of any state, Nitish also said, “Kuchh Jagahon par toh ‘bahut hi galat kaam’ kiya gaya hai (A very wrong decision (about free electricity) has been taken at some places (states).”
“Many people keep saying that electricity should be provided free of cost to consumers. Some people have no other work to do, so they keep talking about such things. If you give free electricity, how will people know whether they have electricity or not? How will the authorities know whether the house is electrically powered or not,” Nitish said without taking the name of either Kejriwal or any other chief ministers.
The Bihar CM was addressing a meeting at Energy Park here after launching many energy sector schemes worth about Rs 15,871.2 crore.
In his address, Nitish also pointed out that his government spends more money on power subsidies than the Delhi government. “Some people just keep talking about providing free-of-the-cost electricity to consumers. Do you know who is giving electricity free-of-the-cost? We are spending more on power subsidies than he (read Kejriwal) spends,” Nitish said.
As per official figures, Bihar government spent Rs 6,043 crore on power subsidy under the Mukhyamantri Vidyut Upbhokta Sahayata Yojna in FY 2021-22, while Kejriwal recently said in the national capital that around Rs 3,000 crore per annum is spent on subsidy by the Delhi government.
Reiterating the demand of ‘one nation one tariff’ in the power sector, Nitish said the Centre should implement one power tariff for all states across the country. He said Bihar has been getting electricity from the central government’s power generating units at higher rates than some developed states.
“I demanded several times in the past that there should be a ‘one nation, one power tariff’ policy. Why are some states purchasing power at higher rates from the generating units of the Union government? A uniform electricity rate across the country should be implemented,” Nitish said.
The CM further stressed the need for shifting to solar energy and announced that smart prepaid electricity meters would be installed in every household in rural areas across the state.
Nitish said his government was committed to install smart prepaid metres in every household and directed the authorities to complete the target by 2025. He said the prepaid metres have been installed in the urban areas and now it would be done in the rural areas.
Referring to the prepaid metre scheme, Nitish said in view of various complaints regarding electricity bills a decision to install smart prepaid metre was taken.
He said because of complete transparency in the electricity bills, the smart prepaid meter was in the interest of consumers who would use electricity judiciously without wasting it.
He said smart prepaid electricity metres would be installed in every household by 2025.
Without taking the name of any state, Nitish also said, “Kuchh Jagahon par toh ‘bahut hi galat kaam’ kiya gaya hai (A very wrong decision (about free electricity) has been taken at some places (states).”
“Many people keep saying that electricity should be provided free of cost to consumers. Some people have no other work to do, so they keep talking about such things. If you give free electricity, how will people know whether they have electricity or not? How will the authorities know whether the house is electrically powered or not,” Nitish said without taking the name of either Kejriwal or any other chief ministers.
The Bihar CM was addressing a meeting at Energy Park here after launching many energy sector schemes worth about Rs 15,871.2 crore.
In his address, Nitish also pointed out that his government spends more money on power subsidies than the Delhi government. “Some people just keep talking about providing free-of-the-cost electricity to consumers. Do you know who is giving electricity free-of-the-cost? We are spending more on power subsidies than he (read Kejriwal) spends,” Nitish said.
As per official figures, Bihar government spent Rs 6,043 crore on power subsidy under the Mukhyamantri Vidyut Upbhokta Sahayata Yojna in FY 2021-22, while Kejriwal recently said in the national capital that around Rs 3,000 crore per annum is spent on subsidy by the Delhi government.
Reiterating the demand of ‘one nation one tariff’ in the power sector, Nitish said the Centre should implement one power tariff for all states across the country. He said Bihar has been getting electricity from the central government’s power generating units at higher rates than some developed states.
“I demanded several times in the past that there should be a ‘one nation, one power tariff’ policy. Why are some states purchasing power at higher rates from the generating units of the Union government? A uniform electricity rate across the country should be implemented,” Nitish said.
The CM further stressed the need for shifting to solar energy and announced that smart prepaid electricity meters would be installed in every household in rural areas across the state.
Nitish said his government was committed to install smart prepaid metres in every household and directed the authorities to complete the target by 2025. He said the prepaid metres have been installed in the urban areas and now it would be done in the rural areas.
Referring to the prepaid metre scheme, Nitish said in view of various complaints regarding electricity bills a decision to install smart prepaid metre was taken.
He said because of complete transparency in the electricity bills, the smart prepaid meter was in the interest of consumers who would use electricity judiciously without wasting it.
He said smart prepaid electricity metres would be installed in every household by 2025.
