JAMMU, JUNE 16: In a meeting convened to address pressing issues in the power sector of Chhamb Assembly Constituency, the Minister for Food, Civil Supplies & Consumer Affairs, Transport, Science & Technology, Information Technology, Youth Services & Sports, and ARI & Trainings, Satish Sharma, took serious note of gaps in implementation and infrastructure delivery and directed the officers to ensure timely and proper augmentation of power infra in Chammb and its catchment areas.
The meeting, held at the JKRTC Office, Rail Head Complex, Jammu, witnessed the participation of the Managing Director, Chief Engineers, Superintendent Engineers, Executive Engineers, AEEs and other senior officials of JPDCL, JPTCL, Transmission Division, Maintenance Division, etc.
The Minister, while discussing the Union Territory CAPEX Plan emphasised that no planning for Chhamb should proceed without consultation with the elected representative and local stakeholders.
The Minister directed officers to submit a detailed progress report on projects under the Border Area Development Programme (BADP), particularly those related to rural electrification and power augmentation and also those taken up under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS). The Minister stressed on accelerate the execution of sanctioned works and flagged delays in ground implementation.
Expressing concern over frequent and unscheduled outages, the Minister instructed the department to submit a weekly load-shedding calendar and rectify the causes of supply disruptions on priority.
The meeting also discussed the current status of the buffer stock for distribution transformers. Officers were told to ensure adequate stock is available to address breakdowns without delay. It was directed that the repair/replacement of Damaged Transformers be carried out in the shortest possible time so that the people shouldn’t have to suffer in this connection.
While discussing the status of 33KV grid stations at Ghar Majoor and Kaleeth, the Minister directed for expedited completion of pending works and the removal of administrative bottlenecks, if any.
The Minister directed Field officers to compile a requirement inventory of electric poles and conductor wires, so that procurement and supply can be aligned with field needs.
The meeting also discussed shortfall of transformers in the region JPDCL was directed to map transformer demand at the village level and prepare an immediate procurement plan. It was also directed for the proper implementation of the Jan Jati Utkarsh Gram Abhiyan in order to provide an electricity supply to every household. Further stress was put on the Solarisation of the households under different Govt Schemes like PM Suryaghar, whereby the Minister emphasised that Solar Power is the only solution in view of the power deficit, and he urged that the people should come forward to shift from the traditional power supply to Solar power.
It was further discussed and decided in the meeting that the voltage supply from the Jourian Grid station would be increased, in a day or two, so that the electricity to its catchment area is properly supplied. The meeting also discussed the augmentation of the Barn grid station whereby it was apprised that further augmentation of the said station by 50 MVA, to be completed within the next 15 days, would improve the power supply in the areas fed through this grid station.
Minister Sharma emphasised that no delay will be tolerated in resolving issues affecting public convenience, especially those concerning rural electrification, voltage regulation, and uninterrupted power supply.
