As the Steel City faces frequent power cuts with the onset of summer season, Chief Minister Raghubar Das on Monday announced that consumers of State electricity board -Jharkhand Urja Vikas Nigam limited (JUVNl)- would no longer have to stand in queue for payment of electricity bills. JUVNl will start online payment system from April. With a promise to make Jharkhand 'Power Hub' 2019, Das said that the customers would now be able to make payments of bills just sitting in their office, home or anywhere, thus saving time. The Chief Minister who laid the foundation stone of a new power sub-station at Sidhgora with two transformers of 5 MV capacities, to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 2-crore, said that electricity board would start the online payment facility by which people can pay using internet at much ease rather standing in the queues.
"It is an ambitious project and we are confident to start the facility from the month of April. We are taking every step to make electricity board more consumer friendly and provide quality power. The board is serious to take every step to stop power theft," said Raghubar Das who is also the local MlA. The CM said that the Government is also planning to a team of retired Army personnel who will in turn develop a mechanism to check power theft in Jharkhand. Talks with JUVNl officials have been fruitful in this regard. The new sub-station will with a five month deadline will provide uninterrupted power to 10,000 consumers residing in different residential areas of non-Tata Steel areas.
The CM further said that steps are being taken to make Jharkhand a 'power hub' by 2019. "We are working on a road map to have surplus electricity by 2019 and start supplying power to other states by 2020. Within a few months, the industrial belt of Adityapur and Gamharia will have 10 new sub-stations. This apart there are plans to have underground wiring in major cities like Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Dhanbad so that power lines are not cut during major festivals," said Das.
The CM also said that all MlAs will be asked to adopt 50 villages in each financial year and provide them electricity. JUVNl managing director (transmission and distribution) Rahul Kumar Purwar was also present during the foundation laying ceremony.An official of JUVNl said that the power production in the State is being a fillip and the construction of power sub-station will help to improve the situation. He said that the rollout of bill payments via internet will be another step towards customer centricity. With this, customers can now pay monthly utility bill from the comfort of their homes without needing to stand in queues.
