ITANAGAR, Feb 21: Union Minister of State (IC) for Power and New & Renewable Energy, Raj Kumar Singh chaired a review meeting of the power sector with senior officers of the state government here on Wednesday and directed the officials to expedite the work to electrify every village in the state by 1st May, 2018.
He said that at least 10 per cent of houses in each village must be electrified within the deadline.
Singh also announced a special package of Rs 925 crores for strengthening the power transmission and distribution system in the state.
This fund will be used for re-conductoring of old 11 KV lines and conversion of selected long LT distribution lines with 11 KV High Voltage Distribution System (HVDS).
He appealed to the department to focus on cutting down losses and advised the fund sanctioned to be used primarily for the said purpose.
Informing that the centre has assured 24×7 power for all by 1st April, 2019, the Union Minister urged on the need to move away from regime of ‘load shedding’ to regime of ‘No Load Shedding’.
He said, “It is necessary for the country to reach to the level of ‘no load shedding’, which is a sign of a developed nation”.
Expressing concern over slow execution of work in rural electrification by the contracting agencies, Chief Minister Pema Khandu informed on the decision of the state government to depute APEDA under the supervision of the deputy commissioners to execute all the remaining electrification works relegating the contractors to supply of equipment.
He said Arunachal remains a big ‘stumbling block’ in achieving the prime minister’s goal for electrifying every village by May 2018.
Of the 900 un-electrified villages across the country, about 600 villages are in Arunachal, he added.
Earlier Commissioner Power Kaling Tayeng made a detailed PowerPoint presentation on power sector of the state.
Tourism Minister cum APEDA Chairman Jarkar Gamlin was also present in the review meeting.
The Union Minister also called on Governor BD Mishra at the Raj Bhavan. Mishra requested Singh to facilitate in expediting power projects in the state, some of which have been suspended for various reasons.
The governor and union minister held discussions on issues related to power and renewable energy, including the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana and other pending hydropower projects in the state.
Besides highlighting the hydropower potential of the state, the governor also suggested promotion of renewable energy, such as solar and wind projects as an alternative solution to provide electricity in far-flung and remote villages of the state.