Jammu, Sep 20 (PTI) Union Minister of State for Power and Heavy Industries Krishan Pal Gurjar on Monday said the Centre and the government of Jammu and Kashmir are working on multiple projects to raise the power generation capacity of the Union Territory by two-folds within the next five years.
“The UT government and the Centre are working on multiple projects to raise the power generation capacity of the region two-folds within the next five years,” Gurjar told reporters at Reasi.
The Union minister, who visited Reasi district to take stock of various projects as a part of the government’s public outreach programme for J&K, said it is the mission of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to turn J&K into a power-surplus state within this short period.
The minister further said the government is working expeditiously in multiple sectors including roads, railways, and funding numerous developmental projects in J&K.
The minister inspected the Salal power project wherein the officers gave a power-point presentation to him.
With respect to instituting an elected government in the region, the minister said that the Centre is already working hard to make ground for robust democracy in J&K.
“We have successfully conducted unprecedented Block Development Council and District Development Council elections in this regard,” said the minister. He said further democratic initiatives would be taken as the conditions improve.
Allaying apprehensions about privatisation and surge in electricity rates in the future, the minister assured that all economic factors would be considered to ensure that the people of Jammu and Kashmir get quality power supply at cheap rates.