The Delhi government will be rolling back a popular initiative which gives 200 units of free electricity to on each connection. This decision will have an effect on the 46 lakh citizens who avail this subsidy in the national capital. In her statement on the matter, the power minister of Delhi, AAP’s Atishi said that the subsidy will no longer be available to any citizen. She added that from Monday onwards citizens will receive inflated bills as a result of the decision.
The controversy arises when one questions who is to blame for this. According to power minister Atishi, the Lt Governor VK Saxena is responsible for the situation, siting the fact that he has failed to approve the file sent by the Delhi government. Atishi states that the Delhi government has approved the budget and suggested that the subsidy should be carried forward into the next year. The file has apparently been pending at the Lt Governor’s office since being sent there.
VK Saxena on the other hand has criticized the Delhi government and asked them to refrain from unnecessary politicking. He has also stated that since the deadline is on April 15th, it would have behooved the Delhi government to have sent the file sooner than their April 11 submission.
Atishi has also said that she had asked the Lt Governor for a 5 min appointment but has not received a response. She also said that the budget had been passed by the Vidhan Sabha, the government has money for it and yet it will be to no avail. The AAP government has allocated 3,250 crores for the subsidy according to reports. Regardless of who is to blame, the net result is that the citizens of Delhi will end up suffering in the process.