“Kashmir”- the Indian Switzerland, has always been a sensitive topic in the Indian arena because of the challenging geography that it faces. Keeping this in mind, along with its cross-border terrorism, Kashmir has been offered various benefits and freebies. But one should not forget that prolonged freebies can generate a sense of freeloading.
The withdrawal of Kashmir’s freebies
On 23 June, Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha said that the people of J&K will no longer receive electricity without paying for it. Those who won’t pay for power, will not get electricity.
While speaking at the inauguration ceremony of the Srinagar Integrated Command & Control Centre (ICCC), the LG showcased his concern about the increasing debt over the Union territory, LG said, “Centre doesn’t provide us free electricity. There is a huge power debt left by the previous regimes. We have improved the distribution system and will provide better power to people. But power won’t be free anymore. There are some people who are becoming hurdles in installing smart meters in Srinagar but they too will be dealt with. Meters will be installed and those who won’t pay money for power, won’t be provided power supply.”
BIG Breaking news :- No Free Electricity for Kashmiris which they have been enjoying since independence.
Pay money to get power, no more free electricity now: LG Manoj Sinha pic.twitter.com/0LMJsODxKw
— Mohit Gupta 🇮🇳 (@factual_dogra) June 24, 2022
While focusing on the development of Srinagar, LG Manoj Sinha added that Srinagar is fast turning into a smart city. Further, this smart city will provide an improved underground power supply, which will lead to lesser power supply complaints.
With this revamping of the electricity project, the people of Kashmir will no longer have to face difficulties and the government can finally focus on controlling its debt caused due to the dissemination of freebies. The LG said, “There is a huge power debt of Rs. 11,000 crore left by the previous regimes.”
When was the electricity freebie system started?
Earlier, the condition of the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir was in the doldrums where numerous households were forced under darkness. Soon, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, steps were initiated to develop the region and poor households to overcome the murk.
In September 2017, Prime Minister Narendra Modi started a scheme called “SAUBHAGYA” with the aim to provide free electricity to poor households. Their free electricity eligibility was categorized as per their socioeconomic situation and the 2011 caste census data. As per the statistics for March 2021, 2.82 crore households benefited from this scheme. In addition, this scheme was also believed to be the largest household electrification drive in the world.
It is time to do away with the concept of free electricity
With the Modi government at the centre, the entire Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir changed its facet altogether. The centre has already streamlined the development of Jammu and Kashmir. Especially, after the revocation of Article 370, India’s Switzerland has seen a lot of improved changes resulting in the overall development of the country.
As extensively reported by TFI, since the welcoming of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, there have been consistent efforts to regulate the development of real estate sector in the UT. With the abrogation of Article 370, Jammu and Kashmir has become an investment hub for investors with an opportunity to expand their horizons.
The government has already spent millions of bucks on developing the UT and now is the time to consider overcoming the debt caused by provisioning free electricity to the people of the valley.
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