‘Bill to Be Subsidised Only if….’: Karnataka Govt on Free Electricity Proposal, Hiked Tariff

Amid the politics over the Karnataka government’s move to hike power tariff, state power minister KJ George on Wednesday said subsidy will be provided to consumers if their average power consumption plus 10 per cent is less than 200 units.

“Anything over and above that will have to be paid. Consumers who use more than the allotted units, have to pay for the extra units used. 9 per cent of tax will be included in it,” said George, according to news agency ANI.

The Congress government in Karnataka has hiked the power tariff by Rs 2.89 per unit from June. The people of the state will have to pay the hiked tariff if they fall in the more than 200 units slab.

The move was met with protest from Opposition BJP, as during the recently-held Assembly elections, the Congress party had promised to provide 200 units of free power under the ‘Griha Jyoti’ scheme.

However, as Chief Minister Siddaramaiah-led Congress government is geared to implement the ‘Griha Jyoti’ scheme, there will be a renewed tariff in place for the implementation of the scheme.

The BJP has condemned the hike, saying that the Congress government has betrayed the people of Karnataka by increasing power tariff.

“It is like giving free power on one hand, and snatching the same on the other,” the BJP said.

Meanwhile, the Karnataka Small Scale Industries Association (KSSIA) has warned of a shutdown against the power tariff hike. The KSSIA maintained that it would be forced to shut shop under the new tariff.

(With inputs from IANS)