The Karnataka government on Monday issued detailed guidelines for the implementation of the Gruha Jyothi scheme, which promises free electricity to all households that use less than 200 power units each month, and the Shakthi scheme, which offers free rides to women in the state transportation corporations.
These are among the five guarantees announced by Congress in his manifesto for the recent votes in the state.
The order issued by the Karnataka Department of Energy noted that the free power supply with an upper limit of 200 units will depend on the average monthly consumption of a household.
This average will be calculated by the electricity supply companies, based on the power used by a home in 2022-23.
Energy use of up to 10 percent more than the calculated average monthly usage will be free to the home. For example, a house with an average monthly usage of 100 energy units will get free energy supply for 110 energy units.
If the consumer exceeds this limit, he will have to pay for the excess units used. The excess consumption will be the ‘net bill’ for such consumers. This will be reflected in the invoices generated from the month of August. All users using 200 units or more will be required to pay the full invoice amount.
The scheme is applicable only to domestic connections. Households that use only the number of units for which they are eligible will be charged a zero amount.
Those who wish to take advantage of the scheme will need to apply on the Seva Sindhu portal. this will be a adhar-linked scheme, as beneficiaries will have to link their customer IDs to Aadhaar numbers.
Existing poor-targeted power supply schemes such as Bhagya Jyothi and Kuteera Jyothi will be merged under the new scheme. Consumers have been given a three-month period to pay outstanding bills for energy used through June 30. Power will be cut off to households that do not pay their bills by the end of the period.
If a user has one or more electrical connections to his name, the scheme will be applicable to only one of the connections.
Under the ‘Shakthi Scheme’, the transport department will issue ‘Shakthi Smart Cards’ to the beneficiaries. These smart cards will be issued in the next three months and will allow women to ride the buses for free. Luxury buses including Rajahamsa, those without air conditioning, Airavat and Ambari are exempt from the scheme.
In the buses of the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation, North West Karnataka Road Transport Corporation and Kalyana Karnataka Road Transport Corporation, 50% of the seats will be reserved for men.
The reservation does not apply to the buses of the Bengaluru Metropolitan Road Transport Corporation.
Discover more from PressNewsAgency
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.