Cabinet Revamps Gruha Jyoti Scheme: Poor Families to Receive 10 Extra Power Units

Bengaluru: In a move aimed at benefiting economically disadvantaged households, the Cabinet announced on Thursday its decision to modify the Gruha Jyoti scheme. Under the revised scheme, households will now receive an additional allocation of 10 units beyond their average power consumption when calculating the entitlement to free power.

Previously, households with an average consumption below 90 units were granted a buffer of only 10% over their baseline consumption of 90 units. However, the new approach provides these households with a direct bonus of 10 units. It is important to note that this adjustment may prove less advantageous for households whose average consumption exceeds 100 units.

Additionally, the Cabinet granted approval for the formation of a Karnataka Motor Transport and other Allied Workers’ Social Security and Welfare Board. The primary objective of this board is to fund expenditures related to accidents for employees within the private transport sector.

Following the Cabinet meeting, Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister H K Patil highlighted that approximately 1.95 crore consumers in the state utilize only 53 units of power. The previous practice of offering a 10% additional buffer was deemed unfair to these consumers. As a result, the government opted to revise the guidelines, providing all consumers with an upfront additional allocation of 10 units, as opposed to the previous 10%.

Minister Patil further noted that within the Bescom jurisdiction, 69.73 lakh consumers use only 48 units, and providing them with an additional buffer of 10 units would incur an extra cost of Rs 33 crore.