The Delhi Cabinet on Wednesday decided to extend the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government’s flagship power subsidy scheme to lawyers’ chambers in addition to providing health and life insurance facilities to all lawyers in the Capital under the Chief Minister Advocate Welfare Scheme.
In another decision, the Cabinet also affected an increase in circle rates of agricultural land in their first revision – from ₹53 lakh per acre to between ₹2.25 crore and ₹5 crore.
“Today the Delhi Cabinet has decided to convert commercial electricity connection to domestic connection in chambers of advocates in Delhi. With this decision, like other domestic users, advocates will also get free electricity up to 200 units per month and 50% subsidy up to 400 units, in their chambers,” the Chief Minister said at a press conference here.
4,902 connections
According to the government, an exercise was carried out by the Power department to extend the electricity subsidy to the lawyers’ chambers in court complexes which showed that there were 4,902 power connections for lawyers’ chambers in Delhi.
In terms of usage, 4,007 connections fall under up to 200 units, 665 up to 400 units and 230 above 400 per month. The special subsidy scheme, the government said in a statement, will cost approximately ₹5.93 crore per year — ₹2.88 crore as fixed charge, ₹2.63 crore as energy charge and ₹42 lakh as additional charges among related expenses.
Four additional projects under the Chief Minister’s Advocates’ Welfare Scheme were also cleared by the Cabinet and announced by Mr. Kejriwal.
“Under the Chief Minister’s Advocates’ Welfare Scheme, the Cabinet approved... mediclaim of up to ₹5 lakh, life insurance worth ₹10 lakh, e-library in all courts in Delhi and crèches in six district courts in Delhi. The first two projects will also cover the family members of the advocates — his/her spouse and two dependent children,” Mr. Kejriwal said further.
Meanwhile, as per the newly approved rates, the Chief Minister said, circle rates in Delhi will now range between ₹2.25 crore to ₹5 crore per acre depending upon the type of village.
“There has been a long-pending demand of farmers of Delhi for enhancement of circle rates of agriculture lands in Delhi as the same has not been revised since 2008 and the present circle rate of ₹53 lakh per acre for all categories of villages is much less than the prevailing market rates,” Mr. Kejriwal said.
“Immediately after we came to power in Delhi, a proposal to increase the circle rate had been made and sent to the Lieutenant-Governor but was not approved by him. We will send the new cabinet decision in this regard to the Lieutenant-Governor... we see no reason for him to disapprove it,” he added.
