Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma declared on Sunday that government employees, including ministers, will be responsible for paying for their electricity usage in an effort to eradicate the “VIP culture.”
“We are putting an end to the VIP Culture practice of using tax payer money to pay government officials’ electricity bills. Starting on July 1st, the Chief Secretary and I will lead by example by beginning to pay our electricity bills. All public employees will be responsible for covering their own electricity costs starting in July 2024, the chief minister of Assam stated in a post on X.
The chief minister also underlined the state’s dedication to energy conservation, stating that they have started a program that automatically cuts off power at all government offices at 8 PM, with the exception of the Finance, Home, and Chief Minister Secretariat departments.
This program, which aims to cut down on electricity use, has already been put into place in 8,000 state government buildings, schools, and other organizations.
“Our aim is to gradually move all Govt establishments to solar power and we are exploring beginning this work from our Medical Colleges and Universities across the State,” said the chief minister of Assam.
On Sunday, the Assam Chief Minister held a ceremony at the state Secretariat Complex to officially launch the Janata Bhawan Solar Project. With a 2.5 MW grid-connected solar PV system installed on rooftops and ground surfaces, this initiative seeks to further the state’s efforts in promoting renewable energy.
The project is expected to produce an average of 3 lakh units of electricity per month, recover its ₹12.56 crore investment in 4 years, and result in monthly savings of roughly ₹30 lakh.
With today’s solar power project launch, the Assam Secretariat Complex is now the nation’s first civil secretariat to run entirely on solar electricity for daily operations.
