Nitish Kumar launches free power connection programme

PATNA: Keeping up with his another election promise, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today launched a key programme to provide free electricity connection to about 50 lakh households above the poverty line.

The chief minister launched "Har Ghar Bijli Lagataar" programme, which was key development thrust for the Assembly polls, at an event here. It aims to supply power to every household in Bihar in the next two years.

Deputy Chief Minister Tejaswi Yadav, Energy Minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav, Chief Secretary Anjani Kumar Singh and Principal Secretary (Power) Pratyay Amrit were in attendance at the event.

Providing power connection to every household is an important component of Kumar's "seven resolves". The same was adopted by the grand secular alliance government in the state as "policy of good governance" for the next five years.

At the event, Kumar said his government started implementing schemes to fulfil promises made under "seven resolves" within one year of his government.

As part of the programme, nearly 50 lakh households above the poverty line, but deprived of power will get electricity connection free. BPL families are already covered in the rural electrification programme, he said.

Kumar clarified that the aim is to provide free electricity connection and not free power. Beneficiaries will have to pay for the power consumed by them.

"The target is to link the leftover households with electricity connection in next two years (by 2018)," he said.

An amount of Rs 1857.5 crore has been set aside by the state government for this purpose, the chief minister said, adding the state was undertaking the "herculean task" on its own by drawing loan from the Asian Development Bank.