Kolkata: The State government has provided Rs 91.73 crore to West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (WBSEDCL) for free electricity under ‘Haasir Alo’ benefitting 34 lakh consumers.
The state has also released Rs 6.47 crore up to the third quarter to CESC for providing free electricity under ‘Haasir Alo’. To mitigate the price hike in tariff, the Mamata Banerjee government up to the 3rd quarter of the current year, released Rs 1,414 crore as upfront subsidy to 1.74 crore of domestic consumers including agricultural consumers.
State government bears a subsidy of crores for providing free electricity to the poor people across the state up to 75 units on a quarterly basis. Lakhs of people are directly benefiting under ‘Hasir Alo’, a free electricity scheme announced by the state government. The scheme has been conceptualised in such a manner so that the poor people can avail electricity at free of costs if they restrict their consumption within 75 units in a quarter.
The Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had launched the ‘Hasir Alo’ project in 2020 to provide free electricity to the poor people across the state up to 75 units every quarter. In 2022-23, over 73.40 lakh people benefitted from the project. These people do not have to pay a single penny for their bill, and even the connection for electricity has been provided to them completely free of cost.