Patna Mar 31 (IANS): After a spike in the power tariff, the Bihar government on Friday decided to give a subsidy to the tune of Rs 13,114 crore for the sector.

Announcing the measure in the Assembly during the Budget session, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar sought to explain why the power tariff increased in Bihar and how the subsidy would ensure that this would not affect common people of the state.

"The Centre is giving us power at a high rate. They have increased the power tariff this year too. I want to put my point that the Centre is fixing different rates for different states. For example, the Centre is providing power to Gujarat and Maharashtra at a lower rate. These states are considered as the richest in the country. On the other hand, Bihar is a poor state but the Centre is supplying electricity at a high rate. Hence, the tariff is high here. This is the reason why I demanded for one nation one tariff in the country," he said.

"Since, the Centre has an increased rate of power, it would put an additional burden on the common people. Keeping this in mind, we have decided to give a subsidy of Rs 13,114 crore for the people of Bihar. With this, the electricity rate will remain the same in the financial year 2023-24," Nitish Kumar added.