Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. (File photograph)
Eleven days after forming the Delhi government, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party or AAP has delivered on its big-ticket election promises: cheaper water and power.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia announced today that every household will get 20,000 litres of water at no cost every month; families who use less than 400 units of power per month will get a 50% discount on their bills, the others will pay full rate for electricity.
The new prices will come into effect on March 1. For the next fiscal year, The subsidy for electricity is likely to cost the government about Rs 1,400 crore, said Mr Sisodia; the discount on water will add up to about Rs 250 crore. The subsidy for March will be Rs 70 crore for electricity and Rs 20 crore for water.
Its commitment to cheaper utilities is seen as one of the driving forces of AAP's phenomenal result in the Delhi election last month - it won more than 95% of the seats in the Delhi assembly.
Mr Kejriwal later tweeted, "We have delivered on our promises. Electricity at half-price and free water. We will make good on other promises later. Just stay with us".