Odisha govt has no plans to provide 300 units free electricity to consumers: Dy CM

Bhubaneswar, April 2 (PTI) Odisha Deputy Chief Minister KV Singh Deo on Wednesday said the government has no plans to provide 300 units of free electricity in the state.

The deputy CM, who also holds the Energy portfolio, made this written statement in the Assembly while responding to a question by BJD legislator Sarada Prasad Nayak.

Singh Deo's statement comes in the wake of allegations from opposition parties accusing the BJP of failing to fulfill its election promise of providing 300 units of free electricity to consumers.

However, the deputy CM highlighted that domestic consumers interested in reducing their power costs can produce their own electricity by installing rooftop solar panels under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana.

"Under this scheme, the central government provides a subsidy of Rs 78,000, while the state government offers Rs 60,000 for the installation of solar plants up to 3 KW on rooftops," he added.

He added that by leveraging this scheme, consumers can generate nearly 300 units of solar power per month.

The state government has allocated a budget of Rs 1,800 crore for the implementation of the scheme over three financial years, from 2024-25 to 2026-27, Singh Deo informed.

So far, a total of 97,128 people have applied to benefit from the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, with solar projects already installed on the rooftops of 3,124 households.

Singh Deo further emphasised that the adoption of solar power under this scheme will help mitigate load shedding and address the power crisis in the state. PTI BBM BBM MNB

Source: PTI