Chandigarh (IANS). Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Sunday said 90 per cent households in the state were getting free electricity and congratulated the people on completion of one year of guaranteeing free electricity which has benefitted every section of the society.
In a statement, he said the government had launched the guarantee of providing free electricity to the people on July 1 last year and since then 90 per cent of the households in the state were getting free electricity and their electricity bill was zero.
Mann said that it is a matter of pride and satisfaction that along with the domestic consumers, the food producers of the country are also getting free and uninterrupted power in the state.
He said that farmers are getting power supply for more than eight hours without any cut.
Farmers are sharing videos regarding this and are thanking the government.
Besides, the government has paid a subsidy of Rs 20,200 crore to PSPCL, Mann said.
The Chief Minister said that this was not possible by taking loans like previous governments, but by curbing theft and corruption.
He said that for the first time in the history, Punjab has coal reserves of 43 days. Earlier, there was a threat of blackout in the state.
The Chief Minister said that the government is making efforts to make Punjab a power surplus state, now focusing on promoting green, solar and hydropower in the state. He also announced that the government is setting up a 206 MW hydroelectric project on the Ravi river in Pathankot.
