At a press conference on Friday, Atishi, leader of the Aam Aadmi Party and Delhi’s Power Minister, revealed that starting from Monday, approximately 46 lakh residents of Delhi will no longer receive electricity bill subsidies from the state government.
Atishi stated that she had requested an appointment with Delhi Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena multiple times to discuss the issue of electricity subsidies for Delhi residents, but her requests have not been approved.
As a result, she decided to hold a press conference to address the matter, noting that the related “file” has also not been returned.
Atishi, a leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Delhi’s Power Minister, announced that the subsidised electricity provided to the residents of Delhi will be discontinued starting today.
This means that from tomorrow onwards, subsidised bills will no longer be issued.
Atishi explained that the decision to halt the subsidy was made by the AAP government, but the file related to the subsidy for the upcoming year is currently with the Delhi Lieutenant Governor (LG), and until the file is returned, the subsidy cannot be continued,” Atishi informed the media.
The minister has accused the Delhi Lieutenant Governor (L-G) Saxena of conspiring to halt the free electricity scheme initiated by the Arvind Kejriwal-led government for the residents of Delhi.
“In a letter previously addressed to the Lieutenant Governor’s office, Atishi urged the Lt Governor to expedite the clearance of the file in order to prevent unnecessary distress for the countless households in the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi.”
“In her letter, Atishi mentioned that her office was informed after 3 pm that the Lieutenant Governor was unavailable for a meeting.
She further stated that at 5.45 pm, she requested for time again, but her office was informed that the matter had already been forwarded to the Lieutenant Governor and she would be informed later,” Atishi wrote in her letter.
The office of the Lieutenant Governor (L-G) issued a statement refuting the allegations made by the power minister, stating that misleading and false statements are being made on her behalf.
The statement clarified that a request was received from her office today at 12:26 pm and is currently under active consideration.
The Lieutenant Governor has not refused to meet her,” the statement from the L-G’s office read.
It should be noted that under the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) free electricity scheme, residents of Delhi are exempt from paying any charges for the first 200 units of electricity consumption.
For usage ranging from 201 to 400 units, users receive a 50% subsidy capped at Rs 850.
