Delhi power subsidy gets LG approval

Delhi lieutenant governor VK Saxena cleared the extension of power subsidy, which ends April 15, by a year late on Thursday and sent the file to Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Friday, officials in the LG’s office said.

They added that this was done before Friday’s press conference by power minister Atishi who claimed there would be no extension of the subsidy because the LG had not cleared the file. The AAP government subsequently claimed that the subsidy was cleared by the LG after the press conference. The LG’s office also said it had received the file only on April 11.

HT has seen a file noting that mentions that the file under consideration had been approved. While approving the subsidy, Saxena also criticised the AAP government for not auding the subsidy amount of ?13,549 crore spread across six years till 2022. He added that while he was committed to power subsidy for the poor, he did not want them to go to the wrong people.

In March too, the AAP government accused Saxena of trying to end the subsidy — a claim denied by the latter’s office. Earlier this month, the cabinet approved the extension of the power subsidy scheme, which entails free electricity up to 200 units to all domestic consumers, while those who use 201-400 units receive a 50% subsidy.

On Friday, Atishi said that although the Delhi cabinet approved the extension of power subsidy for the year 2023-24 , the file was still pending with the LG, . She added that she had sought a meeting with Saxena over the issue but had not received any response. “The subsidy we give to 46 lakh people will stop from today. From Monday, consumers will get inflated bills without subsidy,” she claimed.

The cabinet meeting was on April 4.

Atishi said that the discoms too had written to her saying that they had not received any information about the extension of subsidy for the 2023-24 year and would initiate normal billing without subsidy from Friday.

Rejecting the allegations as false and baseless, officials in the LG’s office advised the minister to “refrain from unnecessary politicking.”

“Why was a decision in this regard kept pending till April 4 when the deadline was April 15? Why was the file sent to LG office on April 11? What’s the need for a drama on April 13 by writing a letter and the press conference today?” a note from the LG’s office read.

The power distribution companies Tata Power and BSES did not comment on the claims made by the power minister. A discom official on condition of anonymity said that no bills are currently being generated for consumers less than 200 units. “In any case, if there are any delays on approvals of such kind, the subsidy amount is credited in consumers’ account and settled in the next billing cycle so there is no impact on the users,” the official added.

Later on Friday, the power department issued an order extending the power subsidy till March 31, 2024.