Even as Congress president Rahul Gandhi spoke of waiving farm loans within ten days of Congress coming back to power in Madhya Pradesh, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan passed a resolution in cabinet waiving outstanding power bills of 77 lakh consumers in one go.
The decision of the BJP-led government, a first of its kind in the history of the state, made honest electricity consumers seething but made lakhs of families happy as they were also given a bonanza of free power up to Rs 200 every month apart from waiver.
The Madhya Pradesh cabinet cleared the Bijli Bill Mafi Yojana 2018 (Power Bill Waiver Scheme) which covers over 77 lakh people falling under the unorganised labour category. The scheme which will cost over Rs 1,000 crore to the exchequer, is meant for labourers of the un-organised sector registered with the government and people living Below Poverty Line (BPL).
An official press release of the government said that people not using air-conditioners, electric heaters and whose power consumption is below 1,000 watts would be eligible for this scheme. The beneficiaries can operate a fan, a television and bulbs. Those who want to avail benefits of the schemes will have to register themselves under the Mukhyamantri Jan Kalyan (Sambal) Yojana. They will not only be given Rs 200 subsidy every month but would also be provided free connection.
Under the scheme if any family consumes electricity over Rs 200 the remaining amount will have to be paid. It is estimated that some 88 lakh families will be covered under the scheme.
In the election year, Chouhan is on a freebie-distribution spree. Earlier he had declared 2.37 lakh contract teachers as regular government employees and announced 20 per cent hike in the salaries of 1.84 lakh contract employees.
The 2.37 lakh teachers were not only merged with the state education cadre but also given advantage of the seventh pay commission which will result in hike of Rs 4,000 to Rs 8,000 per month in the salary.