Hyderabad: The Telangana government’s Gruha Jyothi scheme, which was implemented on February 27, received positive responses from the people of Hyderabad. Under the scheme, any household, which has a white ration card and applied for the scheme, will get 200 units of free power.Rakesh, a resident of Amberpet’s Turab Nagar, told Deccan Chronicle that he received a zero bill. “I did not believe it when the government said they would give 200 units of power for free, until I saw my bill,” he said. A resident of Chikkadpally, Maruthi, too received a zero bill. He said “I applied for the scheme at the Praja Palana centre, but I did not expect anything. This really helps me to save up money.”While many people received zero bills, a significant number of people were billed despite them applying for the scheme. Raju, a shopkeeper in Ameerpet, said he applied but still got a bill for Rs. 600 as he made a mistake in the Praja Palana application. “I went to my local current office, who directed me to the GHMC circle office. I was told by GHMC officials that I made a mistake with my white card number, so I got charged with my bill amount. The officer made the change, handed me a receipt which I submitted at the power office, where I was informed that I will get a zero bill from next month,” said Raju.Shekar Reddy, a power meter reader in Koti, said: “Many applicants made mistakes while filling the Praja Palana form. In some cases, officials who entered the applicant data also made some mistakes, and that is the reason, some people did not receive a zero bill.” He also said there is a lot of misinformation among people about eligibility criterias.Kavadiguda’s Govardhan said he did not apply for the scheme as he received information in a WhatsApp group that people who live in rented homes cannot avail the scheme. Another resident in Ameerpet said he did not apply as someone told him one has to roam around a lot of government offices to apply.Shekar Reddy further said the power meter readers are explaining to people about the eligibility criteria and the scheme’s functioning to encourage more people to avail the scheme, as they can get benefited.
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