Chhattisgarh, which translated itself from a power-deficient into a huge power surplus State, signed a historic pact with the newly formed Telangana here on Monday to sell 1,000 MW electricity.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between the two States for power purchase was executed in presence of Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Raman Singh and his Telangana counterpart K Chandrasekhar Rao.
The politicians and top bureaucrats in the mineral-rich Chhattisgarh termed the agreement “a proud moment for the State that has just completed 14 years of its existence”.
Chhattisgarh’s Principal Secretary (Energy) Aman Kumar Singh and Telangana’s principal secretary (Energy) SK Joshi signed the agreement on behalf of their respective States.
Officials of new-born Telangana State were seen exuberant at the MoU signing ceremony venue at a private hotel as the deal meant a lot for Telangana which presently reels under a massive power crisis.
Telangana officials told The Pioneer on sidelines of the function that they want to build up a trusted relationship with Chhattisgarh to find a long time solution to power woes in their State though both the states have to work on fast on developing a power transmission system if the agreement has to be made realistic.
Calling it a moment of pride, Chhattisgarh CM said that he has already written a letter to the Energy Minister Piyush Goyal, requesting him to facilitate a new transmission grid for electricity supply to Telangana. Moreover, other transmission lines would also be utilised for supplying electricity to Telangana.
He revealed that electricity would be supplied to Telangana from Madwa Thermal Power Plant which is under construction and expected to begin production by March 2015.
K Chandrasekhar Rao thanked Raman Singh for taking decision to supply electricity to Telangana state on his personal request. Rao recalled the contribution of then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in formation of Chhattisgarh state and said, Rs Rs people of Chhattisgarh were fortunate that Atal ji gave them the gift of new state. But people of Telangana had struggled for years to get the new state’’.
“Despite being a tribal-dominated State, Chhattisgarh has developed and excelled in various sectors under the leadership of Raman Singh and Telangana will be developed on the same lines,” said Rao.
In his welcome address, Aman Kumar Singh gave a brief outline of the MoU and highlighted the problems faced by States due to poor transmission infrastructure across the country. “The MoU will be a milestone and prove instrumental in increasing cooperation among States,” Singh remarked.