Free electricity: Hamza’s package comes after same relief by Indian Punjab CM

Muhammad Saleh Zaafir

ISLAMABAD: The announcement for provision of all house holders free electricity in Punjab has come on Sunday in the wake of similar announcement made by Indian East Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann for his province fellows who have been given the facility for consuming up-to three hundred units from Friday, two days prior to the announcement made by Hamza Shehbaz.

The Indian opposition congress has castigated the decision but no action whatsoever has been taken against the state government on account of it. East Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said his government is fulfilling a "guarantee" made to people of the state as from Friday each household will be getting 300 units of free electricity every month.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government that came in office in East Punjab early this year’s polls by defeating BJP and Congress had announced few weeks ago for giving 300 units of free power to every household from July 1. “Previous governments used to make promises during elections...five years would pass by the time promises were fulfilled but our government has set a new example in Punjab's history.

Today we are going to fulfill another guarantee given to Punjabis. From today, each family in Punjab will get 300 units of free electricity per month," Mann Singh said in a tweet. Giving 300 units of free electricity to each household every month was one of the key promises made by the AAP during the 2022 Punjab assembly polls.

The AAP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha said Punjab has become the second state after Delhi to provide free electricity to people. Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema, while presenting the AAP-government's maiden budget on June 27 had said providing 300 units of free power would put an additional burden of 1,800 crore on the state exchequer.