4 months ago
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The Forum for Good Governance has urged the Telangana authorities to revisit the Gruha Jyothi escaped energy strategy and restrict its benefits lone to economically weaker sections, informing that the existent argumentation could severely strain the State’s finances and powerfulness organisation system.
In a practice submitted to Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy connected Wednesday (January 21), the forum’s president, M. Padmanabha Reddy, said that the scheme, which provides escaped energy to households consuming up to 200 units irrespective of income, is estimated to payment astir 40 lakh families and outgo the exchequer astir ₹5,500 crore annually.
The forum said that erstwhile Telangana was formed successful June 2014, the State was generating lone astir 50% of its powerfulness requirement. While caller thermal powerfulness projects specified arsenic Bhadradri, Yadadri and Kothagudem Stage VII were projected to amended availability, delays successful their completion forced the State to acquisition powerfulness from different States and backstage agencies. Despite the cognition of self-sufficiency, the forum argued that the fiscal wellness of powerfulness organisation companies has deteriorated sharply.
It pointed retired that the proviso of escaped energy to astir 25 lakh cultivation pump sets has contributed to a displacement successful cropping patterns towards paddy cultivation, making Telangana the highest paddy-producing authorities successful the country. According to the forum, this has led to excessive groundwater extraction and a dependable depletion of the h2o table. It besides said that escaped powerfulness to agriculture should ideally person been constricted to 2 pump sets per farmer, with further connections being charged.
Raising concerns implicit the Gruha Jyothi scheme, the forum said that galore beneficiaries ain imperishable houses and user assets specified arsenic two-wheelers, mobile phones, televisions and refrigerators, and bash not needfully necessitate State support. While describing the strategy arsenic politically attractive, it termed it economically unsustainable.
The forum further argued that large-scale payment measures involving escaped organisation person travel astatine the outgo of indispensable sectors specified arsenic education, healthcare and employment generation. It claimed that specified policies person reduced section labour participation, forcing agriculture and manufacture to progressively beryllium connected migrant workers.
Calling for a reappraisal of the policy, the forum requested the CM to revisit the eligibility criteria and guarantee that lone genuinely mediocre households person the benefits of the Gruha Jyothi scheme.
