Union Energy Minister RK Singh said on Tuesday that the State will get abundant electricity supply by December this year. While holding a review meeting with senior State government officials on schemes including rural electrification, Saubhagya, Gram Swaraj Abhiyan etc, he said expressed satisfaction on the work and said that the progress in the field of electrification in Jharkhand can become a example for the whole country.
The Union Minister said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi may inaugurate the new power plant at Patratu in the last week of May this year. During the review meeting Singh was told that Bokaro and Ramgarh districts would get 24x7 electricity by June this year. Dhanbad in July; Ranchi, Khunti, Koderma, lohardaga, Deoghar, Hazaribagh, Gumla and Garhwa will get 24x7 electricity by October this year.
The Union Minister was told that due to geographical conditions of the State and some other reasons, electrification in districts like Gumla and Garhwa is challenging. The Minister assured the officials that he will remove any obstacle in the way of electrification on priority basis. He asked officials to work for making Jharkhand top State in execution of Saubhagya scheme and gave target of July to them. He said that a silent revolution has is continuing in the State in the form of electrification. He also asked them to put up the progress report of electrification every day on the portal.
During the meeting it was informed that 77 per cent households have been electrified in the State, out of which 56 per cent houses electrified in rural areas and 98 per cent houses of urban areas have been covered. The Minister asked to spread the word about the achievements and said that Jharkhand has decreased power loss through the use of technology. He said that the State is producing 700 MW Solar energy and 500 MW wind energy.
Energy Secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni and other senior officials of the department were present during the meeting.