Delhi govt to continue subsidy on power tariff

Power tariff will remain cheap for Delhi residents, as the state government decided to extend the current subsidy on electricity for citizens who use up to 400 units a month, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said on Wednesday.

The decision to extend the subsidy on electricity for domestic use to the financial year 2017-18 was taken at a Cabinet meeting on Wednesday, Sisodia said.

The subsidy will continue to be Rs 2 per unit for consumers in the slab of 0-200 units, and Rs 2.97 per unit for consumers in the slab of 201-400 units.

"The total amount of subsidy will be Rs 1,720 crore for the current financial year," said an official statement.

Lower power bills was one of the planks on which the Aam Aadmi Party fought the Delhi Assembly elections in 2013 and came to power for the first time.

"DERC (Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission) will be informed under Section 65 of Electricity Act 2003 and it may conduct a special audit of the subsidy released to discoms vis-à-vis to what was actually passed on to the consumers, through an external auditor," the government's statement said.

Additionally, the Cabinet approved the Health Department's proposal to increase the bed strength at Institute of Liver and Biliary Sciences (ILBS) from the existing 155 in phase I to 549 beds in total.

Further, the revision of project estimates from Rs. 389 crore to Rs. 497.72 crore as per the latest estimates furnished by Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) incorporating statutory taxes, all essential services and utilities and cost of fixed furniture and general furniture (which was not included earlier) and provision for additional beds, was approved by the cabinet.

"There has been a tripartite agreement between DMRC, Directorate of Health Services and ILBS for the construction of phase-II of ILBS.

"Besides the increase in number of beds, super speciality, teaching and training facility and advance research facility with semi-automated parking and emergency facilities like Helipad are being created in the institute," the Cabinet's statement observed.

In another major decision, the Cabinet decided to regularise Kashmiri migrant teachers employed in its schools on contractual basis since 1994.

"The decision was taken considering the fact that Kashmiri migrant teachers were appointed on contract basis in special circumstances of displacement from the Valley due to political turmoil and have been working since last two decades. Therefore, a separate policy for their regularisation on specific terms and conditions was required," Sisodia said after the meeting.

The Delhi Cabinet approved the Directorate of Education's (DoE) proposal for grant of several one-time relaxations in the recruitment rules for Kashmiri migrant teachers working on contract.

"They will be granted relaxation in age besides relaxation in recruitment rules. They will also be exempt from taking the Central Teachers Eligibility Test (CTET), which is mandatory for teachers' recruitment," Sisodia said.

There are 170 Kashmiri migrant teachers employed in various Delhi government schools and the regularisation will cost Rs 13 crore to the exchequer annually.

The government's decision comes following a 2015 order by the Delhi High Court, which said that Kashmiri migrant teachers employed on contractual basis must be regularised.