New Delhi: "Such free schemes are fine only if there is enough money in the state coffers." Union Power Minister R. K. Singh has warned that states may get trapped in debt if they take out loans to provide free electricity.
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"Electricity is not generated for free. Like anything else, it has a cost. If a state is providing free electricity to consumers, they should tell them where to get the money for power generation. If the projects do not get money from the states to generate electricity, then there will be no electricity generation," Singh said.
Where will the money for development come from?"The AAP government in Punjab has taken a loan of Rs 47,000 crore in the first two years itself. This has further increased the debt burden on the state. If this situation is not handled properly, there will be no money to build roads, schools, and hospitals for future generations. Because whatever revenue comes in, the loan will be repaid," he said. "If a state wants to provide free power to a category of people, then it should pay from its own coffers," Singh commented.