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After electricity, Channi govt in Punjab waives off pending water bills
The decision by the Congress-led government in Punjab is seen a move to woo the electorate of the state ahead of assembly elections in 2022.
A day after waiving off pending electricity bills in Punjab, chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi on Tuesday announced the waiver of pending water bills for consumers of rural and urban areas.
Taking to Twitter earlier in the day, Channi said that the state government has decided to waive off arrears of rural water supply schemes, water supply and sewerage charges for domestic connection worth ₹1,868 crores.
“Arrears on tubewell power bills for public water distribution in both rural and urban areas would also be waived off," the Punjab chief minister tweeted.
Channi also said that that his government would provide free power to all rural water supply (RWS), and reduce the service charges on all RWS schemes by 70% from existing ₹166 to ₹50 per household every month in the villages.
On Monday, Channi burnt copies of power bills in Punjab's Chamkaur Sahib in a symbolic gesture to announce the waiver.
“We Promised and We Delivered. The waiver of unpaid electricity payments has commenced, as promised to the people of Punjab. The resolution to waive the arrears of all Punjab users with a 2 KW load has been put into effect today by burning copies of these bills,” Channi wrote on Twitter.
The Punjab government last month announced to waive off the outstanding bills of domestic electricity consumers with up to 2kW load usage. The government said move will cost the state exchequer around ₹1,200 crore.
The decision by the Congress-led government in Punjab is seen a move to woo the electorate of the state ahead of assembly elections in 2022.
The Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, whose party has decided to contest the assembly elections in Punjab, announced round-the-clock electricity supply in the state if voted to power in the 2022 polls.
Kejriwal also announced to provide 300 units of free electricity to every household and promised to write off pending bills of domestic consumers.
Calling the power crisis in Punjab “man-made”, Kejriwal said the problem can be resolved by upgrading the transmission system. “We faced a similar problem in Delhi during our initial years in government. We changed the transmission system, and the situation has improved to the point that people don’t buy inverters now,” Kejriwal was quoted as saying in a report published in Hindustan Times.
In a separate decision, the Channi cabinet tweaked the existing policy of outsourcing Group D employees, and said that they would be recruited on a regular basis. “If the officers are permanent recruits, then the recruitment for class D would also be on the same pattern. An initiative towards creating just & fair Governance,” he posted on Twitter.
The Punjab chied minister further said the state government is already in the process of finalising a policy to safeguard the interest of such employees.
