There shall be no tariff difference between the two zones. These companies would become functional from April this year. While one of the companies would be fully owned by the government, the equity in the other company shall be divided between the government and private companies with the government holding 51 per cent of the stake. A decision to this effect was taken by the Haryana Cabinet which met under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Bansi Lal here.

They will buy power from the Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam and will own the distribution system of 33 KVA and below. They will take licences from the HaryanaElectricity Regulatory Commission (HERC) which will monitor their efficiency. Tariff rates to be charged from consumers by distribution companies and from distribution companies by the HVPN will be decided by HERC. One of these companies will remain wholly owned by the state government and another will later be made a joint venture company.

Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam will cover 11 districts of Haryana, including Panchkula, Ambala, Yamunangar, Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Karnal, Panipat, Sonipat, Jhajjar, Rohtak and Jind. The Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd will supply power to Faridabad, Gurgaon, Narnaul, Rewari, Hisar, Fatehabad, Sirsa and Bhiwani districts.

The Cabinet also decided that the Haryana Housing Board will construct 58 low income group (LIG) houses at Hansi at an estimated cost of Rs 49.81 lakh. The Cabinet gave its approval to stand a guarantee of the state government in favour of the Housing and Urban Development Corporation, New Delhi, for sanctioning a loan of Rs 40.60 lakh to theHaryana Housing Board for constructing these houses.