Union Minister of New and Renewable Energy Dr Farooq Abdullah lauded the ongoing massive development efforts in Chhattisgarh, saying that a new India is taking shape in this newly-formed State. Dr Abdullah also visited village Rawan and village Mohda of Barnavapara Sanctuary area, where he had a look at the work carried out for promoting use of solar energy, said an official statement on Friday.
The Minister paid courtesy call on Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh at Mantralaya (Mahanadi Bhavan), Naya Raipur, on Friday afternoon, during which he expressed his views in the context. Chief Minister Raman Singh warmly welcomed Dr Abdullah at the Mantralaya and meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Chandrashekhar Sahu, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister and NRDA Chairman N Baijendra Kumar, Secretary of Energy Department Aman Kumar Singh and other senior officials were also present.
In an informal conversation with Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh, Dr Abdullah appreciated the schemes and policies of the State Government, like Food Security Act and solar-lamp distribution in tribal areas, which can potentially contribute to the overall progress of the country. Dr Abdullah also requested the Chief Minister to send school students on excursion to Jammu & Kashmir, promising that he would arrange a visit to Vaishno Devi pilgrimage spot for them. The Chief Minister courteously accepted the request and told him about the Teerth Yatra Yojana for senior citizens and Bharat Darshan Yojana for youth initiated in the State recently.
During his daylong visit to Chhattisgarh, Union Minister and ex-Chief Minister of Jammu & Kashmir Dr Abdullah also visited village Ravaan and village Mohda of Barnavapara Sanctuary area, where he had a look at the work done for promoting the use of solar energy. In conversation with Chief Minister after returning to Mantralaya, Dr Abdullah expressed his views, saying that the electrification of both the villages using solar energy has transformed the lives of villagers, and improved their living standards.
Dr Abdullah assured Chief Minister of extending every possible support to Chhattisgarh for establishing the power plants based on solar energy, wind-energy and geo-thermal energy. He suggested Chief Minister to promote the drip irrigation method through solar energy even as implementation of similar method has borne positive results in states like Punjab. Chief Minister agreed to the point. Agriculture Minister Chandrashekhar Sahu informed Dr Abdullah about the scheme in process for facilitating solar energy-based fencing in forest areas to save the villagers from wild elephants. Dr Abdullah assured of providing an additional fund for the implementation of the scheme.