Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot said that our Government has taken many important steps in the direction of making Rajasthan self-reliant in the field of energy.
The State Government is paying special attention to developing renewable energy sources such as solar energy, wind energy and biomass.
Gehlot was addressing the video conference at the Chief Minister's residence on Saturday on the occasion of the inauguration of 220 Kanvi grid substation at Chhatargarh in Bikaner. He said that Rajasthan has immense potential in the field of solar energy. In this, the installed capacity of Rajasthan has now increased to 5002 MW whereas in wind power also our installed capacity has been 4337 MW. He said that the State Government is working towards providing electricity to every dhani in the State.
Our Government has given 1 lakh 8 in two years. Thousands of new agricultural connections have been issued. This time, in the budget, 50 thousand new agricultural connections have been announced.
Also, provision has been made for 50 thousand solar pumps so that farmers can apply irrigation pumps to wells and irrigate their fields.
The Chief Minister said that for the first time in 1998, I became the Chief Minister, since then the energy in the state Increasing production was our first priority and several important steps were taken in this direction.
After the formation of our government for the second time, two super-critical thermal power units of 660-660 MW each were sanctioned in Chhabra and Suratgarh in 2009. He said that apart from presenting the budget of agriculture separately from next year, it has been announced to set up a separate agricultural power company for the farmers so that farmers do not have any problems related to electricity. In the budget, we have announced a subsidy of Rs 1000 per month to farmers who pay bills from meters. With this, they will get 12 thousand rupees per year as a subsidy in the electricity bill.
He said that like our previous tenure, this time also we have not increased the electricity rates of the farmers. He said that farmers can increase their income by selling solar power to the government by putting solar panels on their vacant land. He called upon the farmers to take advantage of the subsidy given in this scheme, put solar panels in their vacant fields and increase the income by putting the remaining electricity in the government grid.
Referring to “Chief Minister Chiranjeevi Swasthya Bima Yojana”, the most important announcement made in the budget this time, Mr. Gehlot said that under this scheme, the state government is providing cashless insurance facility up to Rs. 5 lakh to all the families of the state. He called upon the public representatives and the people concerned in the society to encourage people to register for this scheme. He said that information should be provided to the villagers, Dhani-Dhani, so that people can avail the benefits of those schemes.
He said that the state government has announced to open English-medium schools in the next 2 years in villages and towns with a population of 5 thousand. This will increase the level of education of children from rural areas and they will be able to compete with the children of urban areas. He said that the State Government has also taken an important decision to give relaxation in age and fees on the lines of ST, SC to the candidates of Economic Backward Classes.
The Energy Minister, Dr. B. D. Kalla , is presiding over the program, said that the power generation capacity in the state has reached 23000 MW. The state government is giving a subsidy of Rs 16 thousand crores to farmers every year on agricultural connections. He said that Rajasthan will become a hub of solar energy if the total power generation capacity is fully utilized in the state. The goal is to increase the power generation by 30 thousand MW from solar energy in the coming years.
Minister of State for Education Shri Govind Singh Dotasara said that Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot has taken the foresighted decision to present a separate agricultural budget in the Legislative Assembly for the coming financial year. In addition, the period of reconnection of severed agricultural connections has been increased from 15 to 20 years.
Minister of State for Higher Education Bhanwar Singh Bhati said that unprecedented development works have been done in Bikaner district. The construction of 7 large grid substations has been approved here in the power sector. 220 KV GSS has been launched in Chhattisgarh. Apart from this, construction work of 6 other GSS of 132 KV capacity is going on fast.
MLA from Khajuwala, Shri Govind Ram Meghwal, thanked the Chief Minister for the budget announcements made for his constituency. He said that with the introduction of 220 KV GSS, farmers in Khajubwala region are happy.
Principal Secretary, Energy Shri Dinesh Kumar told that in about 27 months this the work of the sub-station was completed and its total cost is Rs. 129 crores. With the formation of this GSS, there will be a reduction in electricity waste of about 193 lakh units per year. Also, there will be an improvement in the power supply in Chhattisgarh, Lunkaransar and surrounding areas.
Public representatives of Bikaner district, Chief Secretary Shri Niranjan Arya, Information and Public Relations Commissioner Shri Mahendra Soni, Managing Director of Jaipur and Jodhpur Discom including officials and a large number of people were present in the program.