Providing free power up to 100 units feasible in Maha: Desarda

Even as two senior ministers in the Maharashtra government have expressed divergent views on providing free electricity to people who consume up to 100 units of power, city-based economist H M Desarda on Wednesday supported feasibility of such measure on the lines of Delhi.

Maharashtra Power Minister Nitin Raut had last week said the state government was considering a proposal to provide free electricity to domestic users whose monthly consumption is upto 100 units.

The proposal is on the lines of the 100 per cent subsidy being given to domestic consumers in power tariff up to 200 units by the AAP government in Delhi.

However, Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar later said such plan might not be feasible in Maharashtra at present.

"Power usage up to 100 units can be made free for domestic consumers if we follow the Delhi government pattern. The basic requirement for this is accountability. The poorer sections of the society will benefit from it," Desarda said.

When asked about the likely loss to the state exchequer, he said only 5 per cent consumers fall in this (poor) category in Maharashtra while people from other strata can bear these expenses without any major burden.

"The government agencies spend a lot of time and energy recovering money from these consumers. The move will help save their efforts and an automatic controller can curb malpractices," Desarda added.