Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah says govt to provide 200 units of free electricity from July 1 
Special 
Karnataka CM Siddaramaiah says govt to provide 200 units of free electricity from July 1 After chairing the cabinet meeting, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Friday said that the cabinet has decided to fulfill all five pre-poll guarantees in the current financial year.
One of the guarantees include 200 units of free power, which he said will be implemented from July 1. However, he added, the arrears have to be paid by the customers.
"Implementation (of guarantee about 200 units of free electricity) will begin from July 1. 200 units of electricity will be free. Consumers who haven't paid their bills till July will have to pay," he said.
"We held a cabinet meeting today. We discussed all five promises thoroughly. We have decided that all five guarantees will be implemented in the present financial year. At the time of the election and before that, we announced 5 guarantees. Our (Karnataka Congress) president DK Shivakumar and I signed the guarantee cards and promised that we will implement all promises and make sure they reach people. We also distributed guarantee cards," said Siddaramaiah.
Speaking about the Gruha Lakshmi scheme that provides Rs 2,000 per month to women heads of the family, also known as 'kartha', the CM said it will be implemented from August 15.
He said the application can be submitted for this, even online, from June 15 to July 15, and the applicants who want to be beneficiaries under the scheme will have to submit their Aadhaar and bank account details along with their applications.
The scheme will be applicable to both BPL and APL card holders, he said, adding that the beneficiaries of social security schemes will also get the benefit.
Siddaramaiah also announced that under 'Anna Bhagya', 10 kg of food grains will be given to every member of a BPL household and Antyodaya card holders from July 1.
He also said that under 'Shakti', from June 1 women can travel for free in public transport buses other than AC, luxury buses in Karnataka.
He also said that the KSRTC will reserve 50 per cent seats for men and the remaining for women.
Further, under the 'YuvaNidhi' scheme, unemployed youngsters who graduated in 2022-23, will be provided an unemployment dole of Rs 3,000 for graduates and Rs 1,500 for diploma holders for 24 months from the date of registration, the CM said, adding that if they find a job in the meantime, then the dole would be stopped.
The Congress had said that it will implement these schemes if it formed a government in Karnataka. The party stormed into the Vidhana Soudha by winning 135 out of 224 seats winning an absolute majority.
The Congress government has estimated that the implementation of these schemes may cost about Rs 50,000 crore every year.
During elections, Congress leader and former party president Rahul Gandhi had said these schemes will be implemented on the day the government took over.
However, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah after assuming power on May 20 said the government has agreed in principle to implement the guarantees and sought time till the next cabinet meeting.
According to some Congress leaders, there will be some conditions attached to these schemes.
The Gruha Lakshmi promising Rs 2,000 to the women head of the families is meant for those who are Below Poverty Line. Even the Anna Bhagya scheme providing 10 kg foodgrains is for BPL families.
Even Gruha Jyothi scheme offering 200 units of free power will be for the economically weaker sections, they said.
Regarding Shakti scheme, Congress leaders said there will be no conditions attached but it will specify in which buses women can travel free of cost.
An estimate prepared by Bengaluru Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) shows that its operational cost itself is over Rs 12,000 crore whereas its revenues are just over Rs 9,000 crore.
With inputs from PTI
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