‘Na bijli aayegi, na bill aayega’: BJP minister takes sarcastic jibe at ally Nitish Kumar’s free electricity promise
In a sarcastic jibe aimed at the Bihar Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh’s Energy and Urban Development Minister Arvind Kumar Sharma on Saturday said electricity in Bihar will be free only when it will be supplied.
The UP minister was commenting on Bihar CM Nitish Kumar‘s announcement that free electricity will be provided up to 125 units in the state. “Electricity is free in Bihar but it will be free only when it will be supplied… na bijli ayegi na bill ayega… free ho gayi. Hum bijli de rhe hain,” news agency PTI quoted Sharma as saying.
Bihar govt announces 125 units of free electricity
The Bihar Cabinet on Friday cleared a proposal for providing 125 units of electricity free of cost every month to domestic consumers across the state starting August 1.
The cabinet cleared the proposal of the energy department during a meeting in Patna chaired by CM Nitish Kumar.
“The state government will pay additional ₹3,797 crore on electricity consumption to the Bihar State Power Holding Corporation Ltd for the purpose,” a statement issued by the state’s Information and Public Relations Department (IPRD) said.
The Bihar government will also provide financial assistance for installing 1.1-KW capacity solar power plants on rooftops to domestic consumers, it said.
Kumar had on July 17 announced that all domestic consumers across the state will receive up to 125 units of electricity free of cost every month starting August 1. The decision is expected to benefit nearly 1.67 crore families in the state.
Slew of welfare initiatives in poll-bound Bihar
CM Kumar said that the government has also decided to install solar power plants on the rooftops or in the nearby public places of domestic consumers in the next three years.
“We have also decided that in the next three years, with the consent of all these domestic consumers, solar power plants will be installed on their rooftops or at nearby public places to provide benefits,” the CM said.
Kumar further stated that the state government will fully cover the cost of installing solar power systems for extremely poor families, while others will receive suitable financial assistance under the Kutir Jyoti scheme.
He stated that the state could have up to 10,000 megawatts of solar energy available within the next three years.
The announcements came as a move to woo voters ahead of the state assembly elections scheduled for later this year.
Continuing with his string of poll sop announcements, a day earlier, Bihar CM Kumar directed the Education Department to promptly assess vacancies for teachers in government schools and initiate the process for conducting the Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE) 4.
