Power Minister Piyush Goyal was addressing an event when there was a power cut. For the first few seconds, he continues to talk and then this was his response.
“My wife tells me that power should go off once in every programme I hold so I can be sure I have miles to go before I rest and sleep. Now, I don’t know whether they have made it a practice …or it is actually gone.”
In a bid to make electricity available to all, the government plans to launch a scheme under which consumers can pay for the new connection in monthly installments over a period of 5 years and will be able to avail the service on demand.
“We are thinking of launching a campaign to make it compulsory to provide electricity connection to all. We want to provide this facility to everyone that if he or she asks for electricity connection then it must be provided,” Power Minister Piyush Goyal said at a conference organised to mark the completion of two years of the NDA regime.
The minister further said, “Poor people get electricity connection free of cost. But for those who are above poverty line, the amount paid for new connection will be charged through equated monthly installments in five years. We are working on such scheme and soon launch it.”
On Wednesday, the minister had said, “We want to keep it (application for power connection) simple. Then we would ask our people to get the power connection. We won’t wait for them to apply.”
He had also said, “I am actually telling my officers that they have to go to peoples’ homes, make a simple half-page format, (ask them to) just give Aadhaar number, e-mail, address and mobile number, and sign it, saying I am desirous of a power connection and follow all rules and terms. That is it.”
On the occasion, Goyal also advocated cross-subsidisation of power tariff and said, “Indian farmer deserves to get low cost power. We support cross subsidisation by larger commercial or industrial establishment for other consumers.”
