Nitish announces 125 units of free power to all households ahead of Bihar assembly polls

Patna: In a major populist move ahead of the upcoming assembly polls, Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on Thursday announced free power up to 125 units to all domestic consumers in the state. Kumar came up with the announcement on social media, stating that the benefit will reach 1.67 crore households. He also said the free power benefit will be effective from August 1. "This means that no charges will be levied for 125 units in the bills for July itself," said Kumar, who also claimed "we have already been providing cheap electricity to all consumers".

Notably, the longest-serving CM of the state has for long been a votary of "one nation, one tariff", claiming that under the present circumstances, Bihar was getting electricity from the grid at a high rate. Kumar's latest move comes in the backdrop of the promise of "200 units of free electricity" by his rival and former deputy Tejashwi Yadav, whose RJD helms the opposition INDIA bloc in the state. In his social media post, the JD(U) supremo also made a strong pitch for promoting solar power in Bihar, stating that an estimated 10,000 MW will be produced in the state through the alternative source of energy in the next three years. He spoke of 'Kutir Jyoti Yojana', a fully state-funded scheme, which entails the installation of solar panels at public places as well as the rooftops of poor people's houses with their consent.