Guwahati: Union minister of state for power, new and renewable energy (independent charge) R.K. Singh has been assured that the Centre’s Saubhagya scheme, through which all households in the villages across the country are to be electrified, will be implemented in time in Assam and other northeastern states.
Singh was in the city on Thursday to review the progress of the “largest electrification plan on the planet” in the state and region.
He attended the Saubhagya implementation review meet in presence of Assam power minister Topon Kumar Gogoi, Arunachal Pradesh chief secretary Satya Gopal, Assam additional chief secretary (power) Jishnu Barua, Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd senior executive director P. Shakil Ahammed, executive director Debjani Chakrabarti, central ministry of power director K.K. Mishra, Assam Power Distribution Corporation Limited (APDCL) managing director Puru Gupta and other officials of power utilities of the northeastern states.
Micro-level discussions of execution of the plan for village, block and district-level implementation was deliberated in detail. The district officials of state power utilities in the region presented their district level implementation plan for Saubhagya.
Singh said, “The state governments and power utilities are given full freedom in implementation of this pathbreaking mission which the states can do on turnkey basis, partial turnkey basis or departmentally, as per the feasibility of each state. With the collective effort of each and every stakeholder, the challenge of electrifying each and every household in our country will become a reality which will change the developmental narrative in all these millions of houses.”
Singh assured the northeastern states that Centre would extend all possible supply for implementation of the Saubhagya scheme within the timeline specified.
The state power minister said the northeastern states, including Assam, will be able to adhere to the timeline prescribed by the Centre, December 31, 2018, with the committed teams and dedicated workforce “ready to deliver”.
APDCL sources said chief minister Sarbananda Sonowal had announced that all households in Assam would be electrified by December 31 and the rural electrification unit is working hard to meet the deadline.
Source: telegraphindia
