The State Government has taken slew of measures to improve power supply to the people of the State, Haryana Power and New and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjit Singh Chautala said on Wednesday.

“The power department officers have been directed to increase power supply to the agricultural fields from eight hours to 10 hours in the State. Apart from this, the officials have been told repair hanging electric wires and faulty electricity poles in both urban and rural areas within a time period of 10 days,” he said

Ranjit Singh Chautala had recently joined the Khattar cabinet after formation of newly BJP-JJP-led coalition government in the State after he had supported BJP from the first day of the Haryana election results that threw up a hung assembly. He had earlier served as the state agriculture minister between 1987 and 1989.

Talking to The Pioneer, Chautala said that the Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has entrusted on him an important task and now it is his duty to live up to the expectation of the people of the State.

He said officers have been strictly directed to take necessary steps to bring efficiency in the system. At the end of this month, people will find positive change in both the power and jails.  Chautala said, “Since Monday, we have enhanced supply for agricultural purposes from eight hours to 10 hours.”

Expressing deep concern about environmental pollution, the Power Minister said that the officers have been asked to immediately find a permanent solution for the stubble burning.

“No officer or employee will be harassed unnecessarily and if anyone has any problem, he can come and meet him directly at any time.  However, no laxity in work will be tolerated. The officers doing good work will also be encouraged,” the Minister added.

The Power Minister said, “If power cables which are touching the ground or roofs of houses in villages and cities are not fixed within 15 days, suspensions will take place. Two children have recently died in Sirsa due to low-lying power cables.”

“Our priority is to give 24-hour power supply in villages. In many villages, defaulters are not paying bills. There are power stations in villages, but no power due to defaulters. As per statistics, Badhra, Jind, Panipat and Gohana had a high number of defaulters, but there has been improvement in recently past and further improvement in this have been directed to the officials concerned,” he added..

On renewable energy, Chautala said that solar power panels would be set up in sparsely populated areas in Sirsa, Fatehabad and Hisar at a cost of Rs 7,500 each, which would provide three points of supply to users.

Apart from this, he has also directed the department officials to explore the possibilities of setting up a biomass project in Jeevan Nagar of district Sirsa.

On stubble burning, the power minister said, “Around 50 lakh tonnes of paddy stubble will be used for producing electricity from next year. We will lead the country in this aspect.”

An agreement has been signed with Indian Oil Corporation Limited (IOCL) for setting up a Compressed Biogas (CBG) plant in the state for disposal of Stubble.  About 24 lakh metric tons of stubble will be consumed in 200 projects for the production of 1000 TDP CGB, he said, adding 24 firms have given a proposal for 38 project to set up a CBG plant of 234 tonnes per day capacity in Haryana.

Apart from this, stubble will also be used in thermal plants. About 50 to 55 lakh tonne of stubble is produced in the State every year. For its disposal, several ambitious projects are being started in the State, in which about 40 lakh tonne of stubble will be consumed, the Minister added.

He said, “As per department reports, within the last two years, power distribution companies have come in a profitable position and customer satisfaction has also increased in cases of new power connections.”

He said that the power officers have been strictly directed to ensure that power related complaints of the general public should be listened carefully at the complaint centers and strict action should be taken against the officer or employee who is found guilty in such complaints.