By IANS,
Ranchi : The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led Jharkhand government has scrapped a scheme to provide free power connection to people in rural areas of the state. Ironically, the scheme, named after former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was mooted by a party leader only last year.
Atal Gramin Electrification Scheme, aimed for both people below poverty line (BPL) and others, was introduced in 2010-2011 by BJP’s Raghubar Das, finance minister in the then Shibu Soren-led Jharkhand Mukti Morcha-BJP government, while presenting the 2010-11 budget in February last.
However, the Soren government fell in May last year and the state came under president’s rule till August 13.
BJP leader Arjun Munda took charge of the state later in August last year, but the free power connection scheme could not see the light of the day and has not been included in the 2001-12 budget. Munda himself holds charge of the power department.
“The scheme was for those people who were left out in the Rajiv Gandhi Rural electrification scheme. The scheme could have helped lakhs of poor people of the state,” Das told IANS.
According to sources, the scheme has been scrapped as Munda and Das are at loggerheads, and Munda does not want to implement the schemes introduced by Das.