Chandigarh MP Tewari demands free power & water for Chandigarh’s forgotten families
Bahadurjeet Singh/royalpatiala.in News/ Chandigarh, May 10 2026
Making a considered appeal to Punjab Governor and UT Administrator Gulab Chand Kataria, former Union Minister and Member of Parliament from Chandigarh, Manish Tewari has urged targeted welfare measures for the city’s urban poor and lower middle-class households. In a detailed four-page communication , Tewari highlights the pressing economic challenges faced by these sections and calls for policy interventions that ensure affordability and dignity in basic living. The foremost demand raised by Tewari is for the Administration to provide 300 units of free electricity and 20,000 liters of free water each month to families earning below Rs 20,000, enabling them to live with dignity and self-respect.
Emphasising the potential for resource reallocation, Tewari, in his communication to the Governor, pointed to reduced public expenditure in key sectors and underscored the importance of redirecting such savings toward citizen-centric benefits, including subsidised essential services. Drawing parallels with policy approaches adopted in Delhi and Punjab, he stressed that similar measures can be both financially sustainable and socially impactful. Underscoring the need for immediate action, Tewari has proposed essential measures to uphold dignity, equity and support for the urban poor and lower middle class that sustains the city’s daily functioning, urging timely and decisive intervention in the larger public interest.
Tewari has expressed deep concern over the worsening economic hardships faced by the city’s urban poor and lower-middle-class families. In his communication, Tewari noted that during his extensive visits across the constituency over the past twenty three months, including urban villages and rehabilitation colonies, he has witnessed first-hand the struggles of residents to cope with rising food inflation and the escalating cost of living. “Many families are unable to pay lease rentals or license fees for their small flats in relief and rehabilitation colonies, leading to cancellation notices and heavy interest demands from the administration”, he pointed out.
Stressing that the situation calls for urgent intervention, Tewari urged the Administration to step in with targeted relief measures that can provide succor and restore dignity to vulnerable households. “I would therefore urge the Administration to provide 300 units of free electricity and 20,000 liters of free water each month to families earning below Rs 20,000. These measures are essential to uphold dignity and self-respect for the urban poor and lower middle class residents,” he asserted, calling upon the Administration to act decisively in the larger public interest.
Quoting detailed budgetary figures in his communiqué, Tewari stated, “If you carefully peruse the annual budget of Chandigarh – Demand No. 53 of the Ministry of Home Affairs in the Demands for Grants contained in the Union Budget 2026 27, there is enough fiscal space to implement the proposed measures. In the financial year 2024 25, the actual spend of Chandigarh was Rs 6,598.19 crores and the net spend was Rs 5,858.93 crores. The total expenditure on Power and Renewable Energy stood at Rs 1,027.87 crores (line entry 3.02 under Other Central Expenditure).”
Tewari further highlighted that in the Union Budget estimates for FY 2025 26, Chandigarh’s Gross Budget stood at Rs 6,983.18 crores and the Net Budget at Rs 6,187.48 crores, with Rs 917.87 crores earmarked for Power and Renewable Energy. He noted that on February 1, 2025, power distribution in Chandigarh was officially privatized, with Chandigarh Power Distribution Limited (CPDL), a subsidiary of Eminent Electricity Distribution Limited (EEDL), taking over operations from the Electricity Wing of Engineering Department. “In the revised estimates for 2025 26, the Gross spend was pegged at Rs 6,466.97 crores and the Net at Rs 5,556.42 crores, while expenditure on Power and Renewable Energy fell sharply to Rs 279.82 crores from the budgeted Rs 917.87 crores. For the current fiscal 2026 27, the Gross demand is Rs 6,545.52 crores and Net demand Rs 5,720.17 crores, with only Rs 171.86 crores estimated for Power and Renewable Energy,” he stated.
Tewari pointed out that between the actual budgetary spend in FY 2024 25 and the estimates for FY 2026 27, expenditure on Power and Renewables has come down by Rs 856.01 crores. “That is the fiscal space the Chandigarh Administration must leverage to provide 300 units of free electricity to families with a monthly income below Rs 20,000. The Administration should seek Rs 856–1000 crores in the Supplementary Demands for Grants, to be formulated in September–October 2026, to reimburse CPDL for supplying free power beginning this year itself. This can be implemented as early as July 1, 2026, if the Administration demonstrates the political will and empathy for the poor,” he asserted, adding, “This is the very model already being followed in Delhi and Punjab, where the governments reimburse Distribution Companies (DISCOMs) for the free or subsidised power supplied to consumers.”
Substantiating his assertions with detailed fiscal data, Tewari pointed out that Punjab, despite facing a debt liability projected at Rs 4.47 lakh crores by March 31, 2027, and carrying a Debt to GDP ratio of 46.65%, the second highest in the country after Arunachal Pradesh at 57%, continues to provide free power to its residents. He underscored that Chandigarh, as a Union Territory and the joint capital of Punjab and Haryana, does not face such constraints since its funds come directly from the Central Government. In this backdrop, he argued that Chandigarh would only be seeking from the Centre an amount equivalent to what was already being spent on power and renewable energy until FY 2024 25.
Tewari further emphasised that even from an ideological standpoint, the NDA/BJP government should have no difficulty in extending these additional funds to Chandigarh, given that the Centre currently runs over 4,510 central and state public welfare schemes, including 260 central sector schemes and 54 centrally sponsored schemes.
Drawing on national welfare precedents, Tewari highlighted that under the Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, free food grains are provided to 81.5 crore people with a budgetary outlay of Rs 2.27 lakh crores annually. “Similarly, under PM KISAN, Rs 6,000 is given annually to 9.32 crore farmers at a cost of Rs 63,500 crores, while MNREGA carries an annual budget of Rs 86,000 crores and in 2024 25 provided employment to 7.88 crore people.” He questioned why, when the rural poor are rightly supported through such schemes, the urban poor of Chandigarh shouldn’t receive similar assistance. Tewari argued that the provision of free electricity and water would be a much-needed financial boost to the incomes of vulnerable households. Turning to the issue of 20,000 liters of free water, he recalled that on March 11, 2024, Congress and AAP councillors had by majority passed a resolution in the General House of the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation to provide free water to city residents.
Elaborating further, Tewari said, “After the conclusion of the Lok Sabha elections, which I won as the candidate of the INDIA Alliance, your predecessor Banwari Lal Purohit had rejected the resolution of the General House of the Municipal Corporation by mis-invoking discretionary powers under the Municipal Corporation Act. But on July 10, 2024, however, the General House quashed that rejection and reaffirmed its resolution to provide free water, noting that the House had neither been show-caused, heard, nor consulted before the rejection as required under the Municipal Corporation Act.” Tewari pointed out that the resolution for providing free water remains valid even today. Unfortunately, he added, it has not been implemented by the Municipal Corporation, which has now been headed by BJP Mayors for the past two consecutive terms.
Further strengthening the case, Tewari cited figures that make it evidently clear that providing 20,000 liters of free water is both viable and affordable. He noted that the total cost of supplying free water to all residents of Chandigarh had been calculated at approximately Rs 39.65 crores as of March 30, 2024, according to figures jointly released in the public domain by the INC AAP. “Extending this benefit only to households with a monthly income of Rs 20,000 or less would cost barely a quarter of that amount, an expenditure the Municipal Corporation can easily meet from its own funds”, asserted Chandigarh MP.
Tewari contrasted this modest requirement with the wasteful spending already incurred. He pointed out that Rs 166 crores had been virtually squandered on the failed 24×7 Mani Majra water supply project, now under a C&AG performance audit, while an additional liability of around Rs 510 crores was undertaken through a loan commitment to Agence Française de Développement (AFD) on December 17, 2022, for the pan-city 24×7 water project. Against this backdrop, he argued, finding Rs 15–20 odd crores to provide free water to the poor and vulnerable sections of society is loose change and can be easily managed by the Municipal Corporation, provided the Chandigarh Administration refrains from exercising its misconceived veto.
“I do hope I will receive a direct response from you (Governor), as the matter concerns the invisible population of Chandigarh that keeps the wheels of the city turning by their sweat, toil and tears,” Tewari concluded.
