K'taka govt issues orders to implement scheme offering 200 units free power to domestic consumers
Bengaluru, Jun 5: The Karnataka government on Monday rolled out the 'Gruha Jyoti' free electricity scheme, which is one of the five poll guarantees that the ruling Congress had promised in its election manifesto, and it will be implemented from July 1.
The guarantee offers up to 200 units of electricity free of cost to domestic consumers.
According to the order issued today, the government said the scheme will be applicable only for domestic use and not commercial connections.
Under the scheme, the government will take into account the one-year average power consumption in 2022-23 financial year and will give free electricity up to 10 per cent more than the average usage.
If a consumer uses about 150 units of electricity a month on an average, he can get free power up to 165 units of power. If he exceeds the limit, then he will have to pay for the rest of the units consumed, which will be the net power consumption.
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However, if the usage exceeds 200 units of power, the consumer will have to pay the full amount of the electricity bill. Consumers have to pay the arrears till June 30 within three months.
The electricity meter usage and the meter reading have been made mandatory. The total electricity consumption will be displayed in the monthly bill, the order said.
Every beneficiary has to link the customer ID or account ID with Aadhaar number. Any consumer cannot integrate more than one electricity meter with the scheme.
Those who want to avail benefit will have to enrol themselves in the 'Seva Sindhu' portal of the state government.
The government also mentioned that the beneficiaries of Bhagya Jyoti', Kuteera Jyoti' and Amruta Jyoti' schemes, which are various existing schemes offering free electricity to the economically and socially backward communities, will be merged with the 'Gruha Jyoti' scheme.
The government said the cost of the free electricity provided to the consumers will be compensated to the electricity supply companies.
Besides the introduction of 'Gruha Jyoti', the government also issued orders for fulfilling the 'Shakti' free bus travel for women scheme from June 11.
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Maharashtra: All files to be vetted by Shinde before being sent to CM Fadnavis
Mumbai (PTI): The Maharashtra government has ordered that all files will now go through Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde before being presented to CM Devendra Fadnavis for approval.
The moves seeks to revive an arrangement which existed in 2023 of files being vetted by the then two deputy CMs --Ajit Pawar and Fadnavis -- before being forwarded to then CM Shinde.
State Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik issued an order to this effect on March 18. "Since July 26, 2023, files were moved from Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, who holds the finance department, to (then) Deputy CM Fadnavis, who held the home, law and judiciary departments before being sent to (then) CM Shinde for approval," as per the order.
This arrangement was made after Pawar, who was then leader of opposition in the state assembly, joined the Shinde-led government along with a several NCP MLAs on July 2, 2023.
Now, with Fadnavis taking charge as chief minister, following the victory of the Mahayuti (comprising BJP, Shinde's Shiv Sena and Pawar-led NCP) in the state polls last year, the arrangement has been changed.
All files will be routed from Deputy CM Ajit Pawar, who continues to hold the finance department, to Eknath Shinde, who is also the deputy CM and holds housing and urban development portfolios.
The files will be sent to Fadnavis after Shinde's approval, as per the latest order.
Since the Mahayuti 2.0 took over, there has been speculation of a "cold war" between Shinde and Fadnavis. Both the leaders have strongly denied the speculation.
There have been disagreements over the guardian minister posts of some districts. Fadnavis had to revoke his decision on the appointment of guardian ministers of Nashik and Raigad districts after objections from Shinde.
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