AAP rewards power stir faithful with 50 pc waiver on pending

Rewarding those who had supported them and refused to pay their power bills during AAP's agitation, the Delhi government today decided to give them a 50 per cent relief on their pending bills and also waived the penalty.
A decision in this regard was today taken at a meeting of the Delhi Cabinet.
"Delhi government today decided to give a 50 per cent subsidy to those who did not pay their bills from October, 2012, to April, 2013, (the duration of the agitation) and continued not paying till December.
"Moreover, any penalty on bills would also be waived off," AAP Minister Manish Sisodia told reporters after the meeting.

Just after its formation, AAP had launched a 'Bijli Satyagraha' against "inflated" power bills in the national capital. As part of the campaign, Kejriwal had urged people to refuse to pay their power bills.
Although around 10 lakh people had signed AAP's petition against power distribution companies during the agitation, only 24,000-odd consumers actually stopped paying their bills.

The decision will thus benefit these 24,000 people as Delhi government foots a Rs 6 crore bill on their behalf.
Keeping a pre-poll promise, Kejriwal had announced a 50 per cent subsidy on electricity consumption of up to 400 units in Delhi after coming to power following the recent Assembly elections.

Later, the AAP government also ordered the Comptroller and Auditor General to audit the finances of the three private power distribution companies serving Delhi.