Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s appeal to political parties not to announce free power schemes seems to have fallen on deaf ears. Last week, Punjab quietly changed its policy to provide free power to mainly poor Scheduled Caste (SC) consumers and cleared a proposal which allows all SC consumers, irrespective of their economic condition, access to 200 units of free power. Assembly elections are due in Punjab early next year.

Punjab government sources said that the state had an estimated 39.8 lakh domestic consumers and those expected to benefit from this new scheme, once the state regulatory commission gives its nod, would be in the region of 7-10 lakh consumers.

Unhappy with this decision of the state, the Centre is expected to ask the Amarinder Singh government to explain this latest move as the “Prime Minister is against free power” policy. Power Ministry sources said that if Punjab is unable to justify the decision which is retrograde to the reforms process, the Ministry would stop the incentive-linked funding given to states under the accelerated power development reform programme and those given for rural electrification.

When The Indian Express reached Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh for comment, he said he did not think the decision was a populist move. He said the state would provide all budgetary support to the power sector on account of this decision.

According to the CM, people were not benefiting from the earlier policy and, therefore, “we are being fair to the people and have removed the restriction of 500 watts”. He said many SC consumers in the state, on account of rising affluence, had loads above 500 watts. This decision, he said, was based on the feedback received from certain sections complaining that they felt “left out” under the previous policy.

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