Lamjung. At a time when the federal government is preparing to impose 5 percent tax on electricity on every 100 units from the next fiscal year, Marsyangdi Rural Municipality of Lamjung district has decided to provide free electricity to the locals on a monthly basis.

Marsyangdi Rural Municipality has decided to provide 50 units of electricity free to each household of the rural municipality from the next fiscal year. According to Arjun Gurung, chairperson of Marsyangdi Rural Municipality, the rural municipality has proposed to provide 50 units of free electricity to every household in the policy and programme for the coming fiscal year. According to him, the rural municipality has made arrangements to provide consumers up to 50 units of electricity tariff free of cost under the ‘Income from Hydropower, Investment in Ujyalo Marsyangdi’ programme in the upcoming fiscal year. For this, the village assembly has allocated Rs 55 lakh, said Chair Gurung.

According to the rural municipality, there are 4,409 households in all nine wards of the rural municipality. The rural municipality has estimated that it will generate income of around Rs 40 million from electricity royalty in the coming fiscal year. Chief Administrative Officer Bigyan Poudel said that the rural municipality will pay electricity tariff from the royalty collected from the hydropower of the rural municipality.

Eight different hydropower projects including 50 MW Upper Marsyangdi ‘A’ and 30 MW Nyadi Hydropower Project are being produced in the rural municipality. The 50 MW Marsyangdibesi Hydropower Project, which will be connected to Besisahar Municipality, is under construction. With the increase in production, the royalty income of the rural municipality will also increase, according to the rural municipality.

Gurung’s personal secretary and local Pradip Gurung said that 90 per cent of the people in the rural municipality use less than 50 units of electricity free of cost. According to him, most of the rural areas in the rural municipality have less industries and the use of electricity is also low.

The recently concluded 21st village assembly meeting of Marsyangdi Rural Municipality presented a budget of Rs 687.318 million for the fiscal year 2083/84. The rural municipality has a population of 18,759. Locals are elated that up to 50 units of electricity will be free.