Rajasthan

• 05 Jun 2023

Rajasthan ranks 12th in the Jal Jeevan Mission connection

Why in News?

On 4 June 2023, Rajasthan Water Resources Minister Dr. Mahesh Joshi said that the total number of connections in the Jal Jeevan Mission has crossed 42.14 lakh so far and Rajasthan has reached the 12th position in the country.

Key Points:

• The Minister said that the state has reached the second position in terms of expenditure by spending Rs 16 thousand 36 crore under the Jal Jeevan Mission so far. A total of Rs 1521 crore has been spent under the Mission so far in the current financial year.
• Due to continuous monitoring and review at the highest level, the graph of the mission in the state is progressing rapidly. Rajasthan had made 27,470 connections in a single day on 31 March, breaking the record for the highest-ever water connection.
• In the financial year 2022-23, a total of 14 lakh 13 thousand 679 water connections have been made. In the first quarter of the current financial year, the target is 4.75 lakh connections, out of which 3.05 lakh connections have been done till May 31.
• Among the top 5 districts that achieved the targets set by the Jal Jeevan Mission for the financial year 2022-23, Jhalawar recorded 76 per cent progress, Bhilwara 71 per cent, Kota 69 per cent, Chittorgarh 66 per cent and Udaipur 66 per cent. A total of 7 districts in the state have achieved the target of more than 50 percent water connections.
• Water Resources Minister Dr. Mahesh Joshi said that when the Jal Jeevan Mission was started, only 10 percent of water connections were available in Rajasthan. In December 2019, the number of households with water connection to every household in the state was 11 lakh 74 thousand 131, which has now increased to 42 lakh 14 thousand.
• It is known that since 2019, 30 lakh 50 thousand new water connections have been given in the state, which is an achievement for the state with adverse geographical conditions.

Increased Domestic Grant of Chief Minister Free Electricity Scheme

Why in News?

According to the information given by the Information and Public Relations Department of Rajasthan on 2 June 2023, Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has increased the scope of the Chief Minister's Free Electricity Scheme (Domestic Grant) to provide maximum relief to the domestic electricity consumers of the state.

Key Points:

• Under increasing the scope of the Chief Minister's Free Electricity Scheme (Domestic Grant), now the electricity bill of domestic consumers who consume electricity up to 100 units per month is zero, as well as all the domestic consumers, even if the consumption exceeds 100 units per month, the first 100 units of electricity will be given free of cost.
• Similarly, the first 100 units of free electricity for domestic consumers consuming up to 200 units per month, along with fixed charges up to 200 units, fuel surcharge and all other charges will also be waived off.
• Jaipur Discom Managing Director R.N. Kumawat said that the benefit of this scheme is to be given from the billing month of June 2023, for which necessary changes are being made in the billing software.
• As per the plan, it is likely to take 3 to 4 working days to make necessary changes in the billing software. Only after this, the billing of domestic consumers for June 2023 will be started.
• It is worth mentioning that necessary changes have been made in the billing software for providing free electricity to agricultural consumers consuming up to 2000 units. Therefore, apart from domestic consumers, billing for the month of June 2023 for all other categories like agriculture, industrial and commercial consumers has been started from 4 June.