Now Reading: CAG exposes Delhi power subsidy: rich gain, ₹27,200 crore debt risk
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CAG exposes Delhi power subsidy: rich gain, ₹27,200 crore debt risk
An audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for 2022-23 has found that Delhi's power subsidy scheme disproportionately benefits richer households. Consumers using more than 200 units received an average annual…
The Story in Brief
An audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) for 2022-23 has found that Delhi's power subsidy scheme disproportionately benefits richer households. Consumers using more than 200 units received an average annual subsidy of over ₹10,000 per connection, nearly 70% higher than the ₹6,000 given to the lowest bracket of 0-200 units. The report also noted the subsidy bill surged from ₹2,405.59 crore in 2019-20 to ₹3,161 crore in three years.
The CAG flagged wasteful spending of nearly ₹42 crore on connections with zero consumption for months, including ₹17.81 crore for over 50,000 accounts inactive for more than a year. Regulatory assets, future costs to be recovered from consumers, ballooned from ₹9,063 crore to a staggering ₹27,200.37 crore as of March 2021, threatening a tariff shock. The audit recommended targeting subsidies via sanctioned load or direct benefit transfer.
The Indian Opinion
Delhi's free-power politics has long been a vote-winner, but the CAG numbers strip away the facade. The subsidy is not just poorly targeted, it is actively regressive, giving more to those who consume more, while the poorest get crumbs. Meanwhile, the government has frozen tariffs for a decade, building up a debt bomb that will hit all residents eventually. The real test is whether the Delhi government will adopt the CAG's simple fix: cap subsidy eligibility at 3KW load, saving ₹315 crore a year without harming 91% of households.
Source: english.mathrubhumi.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
