AAP rewards Delhi`s electricity bill defaulters with 50% rebate

Zee Media Bureau/Ajith Vijay Kumar New Delhi: In yet another populist measure doled out at the cost of exchequer, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday announced that Delhiites, who had not paid their electricity bills during Arvind Kejriwal`s agitation against alleged inflated billing by discoms, will get a 50% rebate in payment of arrears.

AAP minister Manish Sisodia said the Delhi government has decided to provided relief to all those – mostly AAP supporters – who had taken part in the `Bijli Satyagraha` between October 2012 and April 2013. “Those who had not paid their bills by taking part in `Bijli Satyagraha` and had continued to not pay bills till December will get a 50% cut in the arrears and also the fine would be waived off,” he said. As per reports, around 24,000 consumers would benefit from the announcement, which would put an additional burden of Rs 6 crore on the government. Electricity tariff was one of the main poll planks the AAP rode to power in Delhi. Ever since Kejriwal government assumed charge, the Delhi government had been at loggerheads with BSES discoms. Last week, the Delhi government recommended to the Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission that it will revoke the licences of BSES discoms if they resort to long outages citing funds crunch. NTPC had served notices over interruption in supply on BSES discoms and said that electricity supply will be snapped if they do not clear their dues by February 10. However, Supreme Court later directed NTPC not to cut power supply to BSES till March 26. BSES discoms have informed the government that they do not have the money to buy power and the city may reel under long outages if funds are not provided to them. Kejriwal said discoms will not be allowed to threaten the government. Asked about the Appellate Tribunal for Electricity`s directive to DERC that a final decision on cancellation of licences of BSES discoms should not be taken without its approval, the Chief Minister said that the order favoured the government.