Jaipur. With the Rajasthan government reportedly ending the the discount being given to power consumers consuming more than two hundred units of electricity, the Congress has hit out at the Bhajan Lal Sharma led BJP government in the state over the move.
“Another anti-people order of Bhajan Lal Government. The fuel surcharge exemption being given during the Congress regime will now be discontinued. Now the electricity bill will hit. This is BJP's gift to the poor,” Rajasthan Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in the assembly Tika Ram Jully wrote in a sarcastic post on X.
The power distribution companies in the state have reportedly ended the discounts for consumers. Out of the fifteen lakh consumers, who were benefited by the discount policy of the previous Congress regime, eight lakh registered consumers have been issued renewed bills with added fuel surcharge.
The discontinuation of fuel surcharge discount for consumers consuming more than 200 units has created a political uproar with the Congress seeking to corned the Bhajan Lal Sharma government over the “anti-people” move.
Sources said that the surcharge in the bill has been calculated at 61 paise per unit for consumption of more than 200 units. However, the discount has been continued for less than 200 units of use. According to a rough estimate, the move can increase the monthly bill by Rs 100 to Rs 900 to the consumers. Out of the total consumers of the state, 15 lakh consumers consume more than two hundred units of electricity. Whereas there are 1.14 crore such consumers who consume electricity only up to two hundred units.
The government argues that the power discount incurred heavy losses to the government exchequer with the loss of power companies nearing Rs 1.5 lakh crores.
