Haryana Power Minister, Sh. Ranjit Singh has said that the four Power Distribution Corporations of the State have become profitable as a result of the reforms made in the power sector in the last two years.

Chandigarh, November 16- Haryana Power Minister, Sh. Ranjit Singh has said that the four Power Distribution Corporations of the State have become profitable as a result of the reforms made in the power sector in the last two years. Haryana has emerged as a model before the country in this matter, which was discussed by the Union Finance Minister, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman in a meeting held with the Chief Ministers and Finance Ministers of the states through video conferencing wherein she had asked other states to follow it. This is a matter of pride for Haryana.

Sh. Ranjit Singh gave the credit of this achievement of the state to Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal, and the officers and employees of the Power Department. The Power Minister was addressing a press conference in Chandigarh today.

He said that in this episode, the department is going to take another unique initiative soon, in which written suggestions will be sought every month from all categories of employees of the department for further improvement in the department. He himself will select good suggestions out of the suggestions recieved and such officers and employees, whose suggestions are selected, will be encouraged in other ways including promotion.

The Power Minister said that a special programme has been prepared to complete the pending backlog of agricultural tube well connections, under which the connections will be reviewed every week. Division and Circle wise 8 to 10 special teams will be assigned a programme to issue 2000 to 3000 connections immediately. He said that first 16,000 pending agricultural tube well connections will be released and a target has been set to issue 40,000 connections by June 30, 2022. Last year, the state government had cut the electricity rates by 37 paise per unit. He said that it is estimated that this time the power companies will get the benefit of more than Rs. 2000 crore.

Efforts will be made to rectify wrong electricity bills

Sh. Ranjit Singh has said that it has often been seen that about 16 percent of electricity bills are issued incorrectly due to various reasons, whether it is due to lack of meters or due to the house being found closed. To eliminate these errors, these bills will be rectified on the spot by sending a team of officers under special campaign at block level. If the amount of electricity bill is more, then the consumer can pay these bills by depositing 25 percent of the amount and then pay instalments of the remaining amount.

All villages of the state will be supplied 24 hours in a year under ‘Mhara Gaon-Jagmag Gaon Yojana’

The Power Minister said that so far 5427 villages are being supplied 24×7 electricity through the ‘Mhara Gaon-Jagmag Gaon Yojana’ and in the coming one year, every village of the state will be supplied with 24×7 electricity making Haryana the first state in the country to do so. He said that during the months of May and June, when electric poles fall due to strong thunderstorms, line losses increase and to deal with this problem, poles will be erected by pole muffing technique, in which they would not be placed directly in the ground but will be fitted with concrete and cement.

Idle and corrupt officers and employees on the radar of the department

Sh. Ranjit Singh has said that under a special campaign, more than 150 Junior Engineers, Executive Engineers, Superintendent Engineers and Linemen have been charge sheeted and their charge sheets are being studied, as a result of which show cause notices have been issued to them first and on the basis of that they will be suspended and even their services may be terminated.

Haryana will get priority for Phase-I and Phase-II from the Central Government for power infrastructure improvement to the states

The Power Minister said that the Central Government has issued a special package of Rs 3 lakh crore for Phase-I and Rs. 97,000 crore for Phase-II to the States for improvement of power infrastructure. Power sub-stations will be revamped in Phase-I, while other infrastructure will be developed in Phase-II. He said that he has spoken to Union Power Minister, Sh. RK Singh and he has assured that Haryana has done better work in power reforms and hence the funds for Phase-I and Phase-II will be given to the State on priority basis.

He said that it is his endeavour that along with the reforms being made in the power department, reforms will also be made in the jail department. For this, work is being done on a detailed plan of 44 subjects, mainly to build open jails in Faridabad and Gurugram, high security in Rohtak and new jails in Nuh. Apart from this, recruitments for the posts of Jail Wardens lying vacant will also be made soon. Sh. Ranjit Singh informed that medical infrastructure is also being improved in the jails of the state and initially this work will be started from the jails of Ambala, Rohtak and Gurugram.

No.IPRDH/2021

Priyanka

Also See:

• Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture Department chairs  meeting with the Deputy Commissioners
• Moga Police Foils Bid Of Gangsters To Take A Criminal Away From Police Custody