RANCHI: Jharkhand ’s newly-elected Chief Minister Hemant Soren appears to have taken a leaf out his Delhi counterpart Arvind Kejriwal’s playbook. According to officials, the Soren-led government is gearing up to announce a raft of people-friendly measures. The government is reportedly studying a proposal to provide 100 units of electricity free of charge to all households.
Officials hope the scheme will help conserve electricity as users will be charged double the normal rate if their power usage exceeds 300 units. Apart from this, the government is also targeting farmers with loan waivers, a key pre-poll promise of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha, and special allowances for the unemployed youth. Free public transport for women and children, which could later be extended to senior citizens, is also on cards.
The Jharkhand government is also eyeing to replicate the Delhi model of public schools in the state. A team headed by the state Education Minister Jagarnath Mahto will visit Delhi to study how the government schools function there with a view to replicating their best practices.