Jammu: Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Monday reiterated resolve for practical, pragmatic and viable solutions to strengthen power infrastructure in every district of J&K UT.
Inaugurating 22 power transmission and distribution projects built at a cost of Rs 216 crore here, the LG, according to an official press release said that the J&K’s power infrastructure, which remained dilapidated for the last several decades, is being transformed at a fast pace.
“Today’s development represents a giant stride in capacity augmentation and improvement in power supply to consumers of Jammu, Samba, Hiranagar, Kathua, Udhampur and adjoining areas. The new power projects will meet the power supply demand of the citizens as well as the industrial sector,” he added.
Terming the occasion as “historic” for the people of Samba, the LG said that the Samba district has also received a dedicated grid station after a long wait of 15 years.
“We are firm in our resolve for practical, pragmatic and viable solutions to strengthen power infrastructure in every district of J&K UT,” the LG said.
To address the current power-deficit and to meet the needs of an expanding economy, the government is upgrading transmission and distribution infrastructure that will also enable us to generate productive employment opportunities for youth, he added.
The LG expressed gratitude to the Prime Minister and Union Power Minister for their continuous support in strengthening the power sector in J&K. The upcoming Rs 12,922 cr power sector project for the UT will increase the total availability of electricity in the system, especially for the households, industries and agriculture sector, the press release said.
The LG said that Jammu & Kashmir, under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, “is moving towards fulfilling the dream of a better life for every citizen.
“We are working on an unprecedented scale in building new infrastructure and improving the facilities available to the citizens,” he added.
“Government will not rest till J&K truly becomes one of the country’s best developed regions, which the entire nation can be proud of,” said the LG.
He also congratulated the officials of the Power Development Department, the people of Samba and the adjoining areas on the commissioning of new power projects.
“PDD is making efforts to reduce T&D losses and bring them within reasonable limits. The department has achieved praiseworthy results. However, due to power theft, honest consumers who pay their electricity bills regularly are bearing the brunt of the cost of theft by other unscrupulous elements. We need to sensitize people to pay their bills on time and help the government to make the power sector financially viable,” the LG observed.
He also made a special mention of Jagmohan Sharma, Chairman JPDCL for highlighting the core issues of the power sector in the UT.
Jugal Kishore Sharma, Member Parliament, while speaking on the occasion, highlighted how the new projects will benefit the people of Samba, Kathua, and adjoining areas.
“Under the guidance of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, J&K has entered into the era of equitable development and the change is clearly visible on ground with the rapid implementation of several development projects,” he added.
The JKPTCL projects worth Rs 153.42 cr inaugurated today includes 160MVA, 220/66 kV Samba Grid Station including 220KV D/C Jatwal- Samba Transmission Line; 160MVA, 220/66 kV Kathua-II (Ghatti) Grid Station including 220KV D/C LILO of Thein-Hiranagar Transmission Line; LILO-I of 220 KV D/C Hiranagar-Bishnah Transmission Line from 400/220 KV Grid Substation Jatwal and 1x50MVA, 132/33KV Grid Station Battal-Manwal including 132KV D/C Hiranagar-Battal-Manwal Transmission Line, under PMDP and PMRP.
Moreover, 18 power distribution projects (11 in Samba and 7 in Kathua) costing Rs 63 cr under various centrally sponsored schemes including 66/11 KV 33/11 KV Substations and installation of additional power transformers were also e-inaugurated on the occasion.
The projects will improve the power supply and reduce the transmission losses, it was informed.
Shiv Anant Tayal, Managing Director, JPDCL presented the Vote of Thanks.
