Assam CM ends decades-old VIP culture, vows to pay his own electricity bill starting July 1

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on June 16 announced the end of a 75-year-old VIP culture that involved the state government paying the electricity bills of the residences of high-ranking government officials, including the CM’s.

Sarma announced, “We (his government) are ending the VIP culture rule of paying electricity bills of government officials using taxpayer money.”

Leading by example, the 55-year-old BJP leader said the Chief Secretary of Assam and himself would be the first people to start paying their own electricity bills, starting July 1.

He said, “The Chief Secretary and I will set an example and start paying our power bills from July 1 onwards. Beginning July 2024, all public servants will have to pay for their own electricity consumption.”

We usually find that the electricity bills of the residences of our ministers and senior government officers or the residences of the secretariat are paid by the government. This has been going on for 75 years; it is not a new system, Sarma said.

He added, this system is going to change to ensure that the electricity board does not have to increase electricity charges in lieu of the losses incurred due to the existing VIP culture.

“Even I have been enjoying free electricity for three years; I was not aware. Got to know about it recently during the course of a discussion. I hope this will help the electricity board,” Sarma said.

His announcement came on the same day the Assam Secretariat became the country’s first green state government headquarters with the inauguration of a 2.5 MW solar power project on its campus.