51 lakh households out of a total 74 lakh will get zero electricity bill, Bhagwant Mann said. (File)
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Friday said 51 lakh households of the state can look forward to getting zero electricity bills from September 1.
After dedicating the 66 KV Butaari-Beas line to the people, the chief minister said that the Aam Aadmi government in the state has provided 600 units of free power per billing cycle to every section of society.
He said that due to this "pro-people initiative" 51 lakh households out of a total 74 lakh will get zero electricity bill from September.
Mr Mann had last month said his government is fulfilling a "guarantee" made to the people of the state.
The Punjab Cabinet had last month accorded approval to giving 600 units of free power to every household per billing cycle in the state with effect from July 1.
Punjab has a two-month billing cycle for power supply.
The chief minister, according to an official statement, said that for the first time farmers of the state have got regular, uninterrupted and surplus power.
Mr Mann said that the state government is taking path breaking initiatives for the progress of state and welfare of people.
On the 66 KV line, he said that this important line that will regularly illuminate 70 villages of the border districts had been hanging in fire since last one decade.
However, Bhagwant Mann said that after assuming the charge of office he had asked the officers to ensure that the project is completed at the earliest.
The chief minister said that the total expenditure incurred on the project has been Rs 4.40 crore.
He said that the project will benefit more than 2 lakh consumers who will no longer have to face power cuts or overloading.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)