CHANDIGARH: The Himachal Pradesh cabinet decided on Friday to withdraw the free electricity scheme for all income-tax payers due to the poor financial health of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board.In a meeting, the state cabinet approved the rationalization of the Zero Electricity Bill provisions for domestic consumers by restricting the subsidy to “One Family, One Meter” and interlinking the electricity connections with Aadhar-seeded ration cards. The cabinet decided to abolish the entire subsidy for the Chief Minister, Ex-Chief Ministers, Speaker, Deputy Speaker, Ministers, Ex-Ministers, MPs, Ex-MPs, MLAs, Ex-MLAs, Chairman of Boards/Advisors, OSDs, all Class-I and Class-II employees of the Government, Corporations, Boards, including IAS officers, IPS officers, HPS officers, HAS officers, Forest Officers, Judicial Officers, all government Class A and Class B contractors, and all income tax payers. The 125-unit free power subsidy to domestic consumers will continue for all other categories, including BPL and IRDP families.This decision comes in response to the dire financial state of the electricity board, which is burdened with about Rs 1000 crore and struggling to pay its employees. The free electricity scheme, introduced during 2021-22, provided relief to those consuming up to 125 units, but the losses incurred by the electricity board necessitated this rollback. Notably, the provision for free electricity will continue for BPL families. Additionally, affluent people had installed multiple meters at their residences to exploit the scheme. Henceforth, only one meter per household will be eligible for free electricity scheme. Despite the rollback, 80 per cent of the electricity consumers, out of the total 23 lakh, will continue benefiting from the scheme, affecting only about 20 per cent, sources said.
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