Nitish announces 125 units of free power to all households ahead of Bihar assembly polls

    Patna, Jul 17 (PTI) In a major populist move ahead of the upcoming assembly polls, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced free power up to 125 units to all domestic consumers in the state.
    Kumar came up with the announcement on social media, stating that the benefit will reach 1.67 crore households.
    He also said the free power benefit will be effective from August 1.
    "This means that no charges will be levied for 125 units in the bills for July itself," said Kumar, who also claimed "we have already been providing cheap electricity to all consumers".
    Notably, the longest-serving CM of the state has for long been a votary of "one nation, one tariff", claiming that under the present circumstances, Bihar was getting electricity from the grid at a high rate.
    Kumar's latest move comes in the backdrop of the promise of "200 units of free electricity" by his rival and former deputy Tejashwi Yadav, whose RJD helms the opposition INDIA bloc in the state.
    In his social media post, the JD(U) supremo also made a strong pitch for promoting solar power in Bihar, stating that an estimated 10,000 MW will be produced in the state through the alternative source of energy in the next three years.
    He spoke of 'Kutir Jyoti Yojana', a fully state-funded scheme, which entails the installation of solar panels at public places as well as the rooftops of poor people's houses with their consent.
    Later, addressing a press conference, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary said the relief to power consumers is a part of the 'Mukhyamantri Upbhokta Sahayata Yojana' scheme.
    "The state government will be providing a 100 per cent subsidy to all consumers for 125 units of power. So far, the government has been bearing an annual expenditure of about Rs 16,000 crore towards power subsidy. The new scheme would raise the subsidy amount to more than Rs 19,000 crore," said the senior BJP leader, who also holds the finance portfolio in the state cabinet.
    The number of power consumers in the state is 1.82 crore lakh, he said.
    "Among these households, an estimated 1.67 crore are known to consume less than 125 units. They will enjoy a golden time (swarnim kaal) as a result of the Chief Minister's announcement," Choudhary said.
    He also said that the state intends to achieve the target of "10,000 MW of solar power in the next three years", making use of the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Yojana run by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
    "Under the scheme, the Centre is giving a 50 per cent grant. The Bihar government will also extend an incentive to those who get a one KW solar unit installed on their rooftops. Such people will get free power for the next 25 years", added the deputy CM.
    Asked about the NDA government's earlier stand of "no freebies", the BJP leader said, "We are not using the word free (muft). It is a 100 per cent subsidy".
    He also scoffed at Tejashwi Yadav's claim that the Nitish Kumar government was a "copycat" and all schemes rolled out in the recent past were based on promises made by the INDIA bloc.
    "Do not ask me to comment on the brat (bachwa)", said Choudhary, adding "elections have not been even announced. What do we do if the opposition is in a tearing hurry to come up with a manifesto? The government is doing its job, as it has always done".

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)