No separate re-verification of BPL, AAY consumers planned: Govt

Srinagar, Oct 27: The Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Department (PDD) on Monday clarified its position regarding electricity supply and billing for Below Poverty Line (BPL) and Antyodaya Anna Yojana (AAY) consumers.

Answering a written question raised by MLA Ghulam Ahmed Mir in the Legislative Assembly, the department as per news agency Kashmir News Corner --- KNC said no separate re-verification exercise is planned, as beneficiary verification is an ongoing process handled by the Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs (FCS&CA) Department. Consumers holding valid BPL certificates continue to receive subsidized electricity in line with Joint Electricity Regulatory Commission (JERC) orders.

On load categorization and rates per kilowatt, the PDD clarified that charges are determined based on the appliances installed at consumer premises, with metered and unmetered consumers billed as per the JERC retail tariff structure.

The department also assured that DISCOMs are working to ensure uninterrupted power supply in fully metered areas, subject to local faults, maintenance shutdowns, and system constraints at transmission and distribution levels.

Regarding infrastructure improvements, the PDD confirmed that no underground cabling is currently planned for tourist or heritage areas, including Verinag and Kokernag. Additionally, there are no current proposals to designate Dooru/Verinag as a separate division with a dedicated transformer repair service station.