The Mizoram Power and Electricity Department has proposed a hike in power tariff by 8.09 per cent under Kutir Jyoti Programme, an official said on Sunday.
An official of the Mizoram Power and Electricity Department said that the proposal was made during a public hearing conducted jointly by Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) for Mizoram and Manipur and the state government recently.
The Power and Electricity Department has proposed a hike in power tariff from Rs 1.75 to Rs 2.50 per unit under the Kutir Jyoti Programme which will come into effect from April.
As regards fixed charge for single point light connection, the official said that the department has proposed to increase the rate from Rs 15 to Rs 30 per connection.
However, the JERC will fix new power tariff only after evaluation of the proposals.
Launched by the Congress Government in the late 1980s, the Kutir Jyoti Programme envisaged extending single point light connections to households of rural BPL families.
The beneficiaries of the programme gets connection with one point wiring , meter and one bulb in their houses.
The programme had come under criticism as it was seen as one of the factors responsible for rampant increase in transmission & distribution (T&D) losses and even inflating supplies to the agriculture sector over the years.