Uttarakhand announces free electricity scheme ahead of assembly elections

Cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat, who was given the additional charge of energy and renewable energy in the state on Wednesday, made the announcement soon after a meeting of senior officials of the department

Published on: Jul 8, 2021, 13:02:24 IST

By Neeraj Santoshi

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

The Uttarakhand government has announced up to 100 units of free electricity every month to domestic consumers. Power consumption beyond that, and up to 200 units, will be charged at 50% the tariff, said the government on Wednesday.

Uttarakhand chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami. (File photo)

Cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat, who was given the additional charge of energy and renewable energy in the state on Wednesday, made the announcement soon after a meeting of senior officials of the department.

Rawat said, “This will cost the state exchequer around ₹ 400 to 500 crore annually, but it will provide relief to a large section of the state’s population .” He said the department was preparing the proposal to present to the Cabinet in its next meeting.

The minister also rejected the speculation that the scheme is being introduced to check the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) from taking root in the state, as free electricity and water are poll promises of the latter.

With less than a year left for the state assembly elections, AAP has been attacking the ruling BJP on issues like corruption, unemployment and health through various political events and on social media.

In December last year, senior AAP leader and Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia visited the state and announced that the party will fight on all 70 assembly seats.

In the Himalayan state, Uttarakhand Power Corporation Limited (UPCL), a government of Uttarakhand undertaking, is the sole distributor of electricity in the state. UPCL is currently supplying electricity to over 2.5 million consumers across the state.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Neeraj Santoshi
Neeraj Santoshi is the Chief of Bureau for Hindustan Times in Uttarakhand, where he leads the state reporting team while covering government, politics, environment, wildlife, Uttarakhand High Court, and issues shaping the Himalayan region. With more than two decades in journalism across conflict zones, he has covered politically sensitive regions and environmentally fragile landscapes, and focused on stories that combine public interest with in-depth storytelling. An alumnus of Pune University with a Master’s in Communication Studies, he has reported extensively from Jammu & Kashmir (2003-2010), Madhya Pradesh (2010 to 2018 ) and Uttarakhand (Since 2018), covering subjects ranging from insurgency, elections and governance to wildlife conservation, mining, climate change, agriculture, human rights and social justice. He has covered politics and legislative assemblies of both Jammu & Kashmir and Madhya Pradesh over more than a decade. Before taking over as Chief of Bureau in Uttarakhand, he served as Special Correspondent with Hindustan Times in Madhya Pradesh and earlier reported for both Hindustan Times and The Indian Express in Jammu & Kashmir, where he covered state politics, environment and insurgency-related developments. Over the years, his stories have focused on environmental degradation, wildlife, illegal mining, governance and the changing social fabric of Himalayan states and Central India. He is particularly interested in long-form explanatory journalism, and stories that explore the intersection of ecology, conservation, governance and society. Outside the newsroom, Neeraj enjoys reading widely on neuroscience, consciousness studies, Artificial Intelligence and quantum physics, with a special interest in Kashmiri Tantric Shaivist traditions. He is also passionate about wildlife, mountaineering and the Himalayas, interests that continue to inform his reporting and deepen his understanding of the region he covers.Read More