Free power to all including tenants, says Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah

Bengaluru, June 6 (IANS) Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday announced that 200 units of free electricity will be provided to all domestic consumers, including those living in rented accomodations in the state.

While interacting with reporters after garlanding the statue of former Chief Minister D. Devraj Urs on his 41st death anniversary, Siddaramaiah stated "There is no need to pay for the electricity bills up to 200 units. This will apply to even those who live on rent. It will not be applicable to commercial buildings," he reiterated.

The guidelines for availing the benefit for Gruha Jyothi scheme, under which free electricity will be provided, specified that the beneficiary must mandatorily link the Customer ID and Account ID with the Aadhaar card. The guideline also mentioned that if the consumer has more than one connection in his name, only one connection would be considered.

These guidelines created confusion and raised a question mark over the majority of people who live in rented accommodations across the state and electricity connections to their houses will be in the name of their house owners who own multiple properties.

K.J. George, Minister for Energy explained that since the majority of the people who live in rented accommodations have voted the Congress to power, the government will protect their interests and ensure that even they get the benefit of Gruha Jyothi scheme.

The Congress government has also merged the Bhagya Jyothi, Kuteera Jyothi and Amruta Jyothi schemes into Bhagya Jyothi scheme in Karnataka.