Free power to cost govt Rs 3,100 cr
Sarbjit Dhaliwal
Tribune News Service

Jalandhar, August 17
Free power subsidy bill will go up to Rs 3,100 crore for the current financial year in Punjab against last year’s Rs 2,602 crore.

Official sources said today that the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Authority had written to the state government that it would have to pay Rs 3,100 crore as subsidy during the current fiscal year to the Punjab State Electricity Board in case it wanted to continue free power to the farm sector, SCs and below poverty line families.

Sources said the regulatory authority was ready with a new tariff order. Immediately after a response from the state government on the subsidy, it would announce the new tariff order. The increase in the tariff could be from 10 to 15 per cent in case of certain categories. The tariff order for the current year has already been delayed by a few months. Though it would be announced in a few days, it would be enforced with effect from April 1. The state government has give in writing to the regulatory authority that how much subsidy it is to pay to the PSEB.

Giving the break up of the subsidy bill, an official of the authority said Rs 2,800 crore would have to be provided to give free power to farm sector and Rs 300 crore to SCs and BPL families. Last year, Rs 2,472 crore were given to provide free power to the agriculture sector and Rs 130 crore to SCs and BPL families.

The sources said the subsidy file had been sent to the Finance Department. Obviously, the department would discuss the matter at the level of the Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal as it involved a huge amount.

Badal is for the continuation of the subsidy to the farm sector because it was a policy decision taken at his level when the announcement for giving free power to the farm sector was made in 1997. However, Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal had made statements expressing his reservations on farm and other subsidies keeping in view the tight fiscal position the state had been passing for the past a few years. He has been for rationalising the subsidies for various sectors.

Over all bill of subsidies and reliefs such as old age pension, etc, would go up to Rs 4,500 crore during the current year.