On April 14, 2023, the officials representing the “Raj Niwas”, which is the formal and official residence of the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of New Delhi, urged the Power Ministry to stop all false allegations about the connection of the Governor with the power subsidy scheme.
The Raj Niwas officials said that the power minister Atishi Marlena must stop misleading people with false statements and also advised her to refrain from placing false allegations against the LG.
They slammed the Delhi Government for the delay in sending files and deliberate politicisation of the matter. “If at all, she and the CM should answer the people of Delhi as to why was a decision in this regard kept pending till 4th April when the deadline was 15th April?” they asked.
The officials further inquired: “Why was the file sent to the LG on April 11, 2023, and What is the need for drama on April 13, 2023, by writing a letter and press conference today?
The response from the LG came after AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) government said that the power subsidy in Delhi will end from April 14, 2023, as the LG has not signed the concerned file.
The LG office also slammed the AAP for not conducting the audit of Rs 13,459 crores given to private DISCOMS during the past six years. “LG repeats support for power subsidy to poor, reiterates that amounts being given to DISCOMs be audited to ensure non-pilferage,” they said.
The LG (VK Saxena) further questioned the Arvind Kejriwal government for not invoking Section 108 of the Electricity Act, 2003, to make it compulsory for DERC to audit DISCOMs till now. He underlined that the audit by the CAG (Comptroller and Auditor General) empanelled auditors cannot and must not be considered a substitute for CAG Audits.
The LG’s office added that the LG has expressed surprise that the Government’s appeal in the Supreme Court against the High Court order quashing the CAG Audit of DISCOMs has been pending for more than 7 years. He asked the Delhi Government to expedite it by filing an appeal for an urgent hearing.
On April 14, 2023, the AAP MLA Atishi Marlena courted controversy after she blamed Delhi’s LG for a lapse in the power subsidy scheme of the Delhi government. “The subsidy we give to the 46-lakh people will stop from April 14, 2023.
From April 17, 2023, the people will get inflated bills without subsidy. Unless and until the file is approved, we cannot grant a subsidy,” she was heard saying.
Atishi Marlena claimed that- “I even sought time from the LG office to discuss the matter but it has been more than 24hrs and I have not been given time. Moreover, the file has not come back yet.
The budget for this subsidy has been passed by the Vidhan Sabha. The Government has money for the subsidy, but we cannot spend it.”
On April 13, 2023, she wrote a letter to the LG alleging that she was not getting an appointment to meet him. She wrote that there has been an emergency in Delhi as the power subsidy scheme is ending and there is a need to renew it.
“As it is the Government had an apprehension that BJP is trying to stop electricity subsidy that is given to lakhs of households in Delhi and now it appears that is exactly what is going to happen,” she wrote, virtually implying that the LG was not signing the file on the instructions of BJP.
In March 2023, the Delhi Government announced it decided to continue the power subsidy scheme until March 31, 2024, Under the electricity subsidy scheme, households that use less than 200 units every month are not billed at the end of the cycle.
Those consumers who use up to 400 units per month can avail up to 50% of the subsidy (up to ₹800) on the total bill. Initially, the rule applied to all but was later tweaked to include only those Delhiites, who voluntarily opt-in for the service.
