Power minister Shrikant Sharma said that soon all villages across the state will start getting 24x7 electricity under `Power for All’ campaign, even as the Opposition charged that UP was reeling under acute power shortage and that the minister’s statement was nothing but hollow promise.
Addressing employees of Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation in lucknow on Monday the Power minister said that rural areas were getting power for 18 hours, tehsils for 20 hours and districts for 24 hours.
“Our commitment is to provide power to all villages by 2018 under ‘Power For All scheme’,” the minister said.
Sharma said that the power situation can improve only if the employees and government work together. “The government will try to solve problems of the employees which include increase in pay and in turn the government would the employees to work hard and ensure that people did not suffer,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Samajwadi Party criticised the minister for the prevailing power crisis in the state. “The minister has promised 24x7 power in districts, 20 hour supply in tehsils and 18 hour supply in villages. However the fact remains that even districts were not getting more than 15 hours of power,” SP spokesman Rajendra Chaudhary said in a statement issued in lucknow on Monday.
Chaudhary claimed that during the previous regime, villages were getting over 18 hours of power. “This government tried to replicate the same formula but failed because of its faulty delivery system. The Chief Minister should immediately take action against the Power minister, else the SP would be forced to hit the streets and stir,” he said.