Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu took a significant step in his initiative to reduce subsidies for well-off taxpayers by announcing on Wednesday that he would voluntarily forgo his own free power subsidy.
He also urged the state’s affluent citizens to follow suit and relinquish their power subsidies for redirecting it to the poor sections and low-income groups. This will help in saving Rs 200 crore per annum.
Flanked by three cabinet ministers Chander Kumar, Col (Rtd) Dhani Ram Shandil and Vikramaditya Singh, the Chief Minister said it was a conscious decision of the cabinet to voluntarily stop availing the benefits of power subsidy.
The cabinet ministers will also be covered under a similar initiative, besides IAS officers and other tax-payers in government jobs.
Under the current policy all power consumers in the state are allowed to get 125 units of free power respective to their financial status.
“It’s an earnest appeal to affluent citizens of the state, including government staff, to voluntarily surrender their power subsidies. This will help ease the financial strain on the state electricity board and support the economically weaker sections of society” he said at a press conference called at his residence on the first day of the year.
The Chief Minister said he had checked his own records about his private properties and even official residence. It has been found that he has five electricity connections. That means, he was receiving a subsidy of up to 625 free units of electricity across his five power connections.
He said the HPSEB has framed a Performa and even has set-up a toll-free number 1119 for the persons deciding to surrender subsidy.
Sukhu revealed that there are few people who have 185 to 250 power connections and they are getting the benefit of a 125-unit free power subsidy for each connection.
“It is important that these persons/individuals come forward and willingly relinquish these benefits. Such an action of theirs will greatly strengthen the state’s financial reserves,” he hoped
The Chief Minister revealed that the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board (HPSEB) is facing a financial shortfall of approximately Rs 1,850 crore to Rs 2,000 crore. He proposed that the funds saved by eliminating subsidies could be redirected to support welfare initiatives for the disadvantaged.
Himachal Pradesh has 27 lakh domestic consumers in and more than 16 lakh households benefit from the 125-unit free electricity scheme.
“If we don’t reform the electricity sector, the state government will have to pay Rs 2,200 crore to the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Department (HPSED) by the end of this year.” the CM said.