Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently declared that the government will no longer pay electricity bills of ministers, MLAs and bureaucrats
Twenty bungalows in the ministers’ colony used to consume electricity worth ₹8 to ₹10 lakh every month, and all these days and the government (general administration department) used to make the payment. Similarly, the IAS colony, where the senior bureaucrats of the state live used to consume electricity worth ₹6 to ₹7 lakh per month. The MLA hostel where members of legislative assembly live used to consume power worth over ₹8 to ₹10 lakh per month. The bills were paid by the government and every household in these colonies were connected to bulk meters which cannot capture the usage of electricity by individual minister, bureaucrat or MLA.
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The Assam Power Distribution Corporation Ltd (APDCL) has now decided to individually bill the ministers, MLAs and the bureaucrats and is installing smart meters in all the bungalows and quarters in ministers’ colony, IAS colony and MLA hostel.
A source in APDCL talking to GPlus said, “The installation of smart meters in IAS colony and ministers’ colony is complete,” adding that by next month installation of meters in MLA hostel will also be completed. The bill for the month of May is already generated for IAS colony and ministers’ colony and the ministers and bureaucrats will have to pay the bill this month. In IAS colony there are around 36 quarters and each quarter consumes electricity worth ₹5000 to ₹10000. In the ministers’ colony there are around 20 connections with each consuming electricity worth ₹20000 to ₹50000. The MLAs will start paying the bills from next month once the meters are installed.
In a lighter vein the source said, “Now the consumption of electricity by bureaucrats and ministers may come down.”
All government bungalows and quarters across the state will be installed with individual meters replacing bulk meters, informed the source.
In Guwahati, smart meters are being also installed in Assam Police Battalion quarters (where many senior police officials live), doctors’ quarters and several other government quarters. Simultaneously, the work is ongoing in other districts too, informed the source.
The smart meters installed in the IAS colony and ministers’ colony will get postpaid bills for a couple of months, but gradually pre-paid system will take over, informed the source.
To end VIP culture in the state, Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma recently announced that the state will scrap the free electricity facility for ministers and public servants. Starting from July 2024, all public servants and ministers, including Sarma, will pay their own electricity bills.
While making the announcement on social media platform X, Sarma volunteered to be the first to pay his power bills from July 1, setting an example for other ministers and public servants.
The Assam chief minister further added that the government had launched a programme to automatically disconnect electricity at all government offices, except for the CM Secretariat, Home, and Finance departments, at 8 pm. The initiative has already been implemented in 8,000 government offices, schools, and other institutions throughout the state.