Gruha Jyothi Scheme: Delinking woes trouble moving tenants

Team Udayavani, Jul 10, 2024, 11:06 AM IST

Bengaluru: The state government’s guarantee scheme “Gruha Jyothi,” which provides free electricity, is causing headaches for tenants while moving houses.

The issue arises because the Aadhaar number registered at the old house is not being de-linked, creating confusion. As a result, multiple members of the same household are becoming beneficiaries, leading to errors in government records.

Additionally, tenants moving to a new house are facing problems with the “average” electricity consumption calculation. Tenants who were previously receiving zero bills in their rental homes are now facing issues when they move to another rental property.

Under the intended guarantee scheme, once an Aadhaar number is linked to an RR number, there is no provision to de-link it and re-link it to the RR number of the new rental house.

What is the problem?

New tenants have to adhere to the average consumption limit set by the previous tenant. If this limit is exceeded, the beneficiary will not receive a zero bill. For example, suppose you have been living in a rental house for the past year, and your Aadhaar number is linked to the RR number there. Let’s say your average electricity consumption is 150 units.

Now, if you move to a new rental house, where a previous tenant’s Aadhaar number is already linked to the RR number, and their average consumption is 100 units, you will be forced to limit your consumption to 100 units. If you exceed this, you will receive a bill for the additional usage.

This issue is particularly problematic during summer, as many families, due to children’s schooling or parents’ job transfers, relocate within cities like Bengaluru. They are all now facing the brunt of this problem.

10 Lakh Families Receive Zero Bill!

Due to the de-linking issue, the number of beneficiaries receiving zero bills is decreasing, as confirmed by the data.

In December last year, 1.65 crore people registered on the Seva Sindhu portal for the Gruha Jyothi scheme, with 95.50 lakh receiving zero bills. By the end of May 2024, the number of registrations remained the same, but the number of zero-bill beneficiaries dropped to 85 lakhs, according to the Energy Department.

Another problem arises when moving to a new connection. If the Aadhaar number is already linked to the RR number of the previous house, the new tenant cannot link their Aadhaar. As a result, another family member’s Aadhaar card must be provided.

Preparations for De-linking

Meanwhile, the government has instructed the respective ESCOMs to allow for de-linking. However, the ESCOMs are reluctant to implement this. Allegations have surfaced that new Aadhaar linking is not being permitted for those already registered.

Translated from a Kannada article by Vijaykumar Chandaragi