‘Will take time, but we’re committed’
Jammu, Feb 09: Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday said that with rising population, expansion of villages and new habitations coming up, it will take time, but the Government is committed to reaching every household and providing electricity.
“The population is increasing, villages are spreading, and new houses are being built. Electrifying them is not a matter of one day. It takes time for DPRs to be prepared. There is no village which is completely un-electrified. However, in some villages, certain habitations or parts remain without electricity and they need to be electrified,” the Chief Minister told the Legislative Assembly.
The Chief Minister, who also holds the Power portfolio, was replying to a question raised by MLA Billawar Satish Kumar Sharma regarding un-electrified habitations in his constituency.
He said that electrification is being carried out through centrally sponsored schemes as well as under the UT CAPEX programme. “This is an ongoing process. The DPRs for the areas named by the honourable MLA are also being prepared. Every effort will be made to ensure that there is no house without an electricity connection, but this process will continue,” he added.
The Chief Minister further informed that some rural and remote habitations/morhas — not entire villages — such as Thingnen, Kanodi and Hanok of Panchayat Madoon/Dehota in Billawar area remain un-electrified or partially electrified.
“Expansion of habitations in remote areas is a continuous process, which requires extension of the LT network at regular intervals,” he said.
He stated that these un-electrified households under the jurisdiction of JPDCL Electric Division Kathua were proposed for electrification under the DA-JGUA scheme. Electrification of most of the un-electrified households has been approved under the scheme and is being executed through JPDCL Project Division, Jammu.
However, some habitations like Thingnen, Kanodi and Hanok were dropped from the final sanctioned DPR of the DA-JGUA scheme due to cost escalation of the work.
Responding to another part of the question, the Chief Minister said that all villages in Jammu Division of J&K are electrified, either through On-grid or Off-grid mode. “No village as a whole remains un-electrified. However, some habitations/morhas/households that have recently come up are still without electricity. Efforts are underway to electrify these un-electrified or partially electrified habitations under centrally sponsored scheme DA-JGUA and UT Capex,” he said.
The Chief Minister added that DPRs for habitations like Thingnen, Kanodi and Hanok of Panchayat Madoon/Dehota are currently being prepared.
