05/03/2013

 

Bihar will soon become power surplus state: Minister

Patna,(BiharTimes): Power minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav on Monday claimed that the state would have nearly 5,300MW of power from various sources, including the central pool, by 2015 and thus would be able to fulfil Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s last Independence Day promise that he would not seek votes if his government failed to improve power scenario in the state.

Replying to the debate on his department’s budgetary demand of Rs 4,350.65 crore he said after mission 2015, the government has also set mission 2020 to receive over 16,000MW power, including 4000MW from central sector. 
The House passed the demand after rejecting the cut motion of Jyoti Rashmi (independent) and others. 
However, led by the leader of opposition, the RJD MLAs staged a walkout during the reply.
The minister said that since power is in the concurrent list stress has been given on generation, transmission, distribution, connection and collection and said the state is constantly fighting with the Centre for its rights. 
However, he accused the Centre for being apathetic and reminded the House of all-party delegation led by the chief minister that met the prime minister over a year ago for coal linkage to the thermal power plants. 
The minister said the government had completed the land acquisition process for the power plants at Kajra Hills (Lakhisarai), Pirpainty (Bhagalpur) and Chousa (Buxar) to meet its goal of making Bihar an electricity surplus state by 2020.
The minister informed the House that a new thermal power station of 1980MW is being set up with a cost of Rs 15,132 crore at Nabinagar under the joint venture of Bihar State Power (Holding) Company Limited andNTPC. The power generation would start in 2016-17 and Bihar would get 1373.50MW electricity. From its stage-II, the state would receive 75 per cent of the 1980MW. An agreement with Essar Power Limited and GMR Kamalanga Energy Limited has been signed under which the state will purchase 750MW and 260MW, respectively. Bihar will get 85 per cent power from the proposed 1320MW Greenfield power station at Chausa.
The minister informed the house that modernization and renovation work on two Barauni units of 220MW each and two units at Kanti in Muzaffarpur of the same capacity would be completed by the year end. These units have been renovated at a total cost of Rs 1,053 crore received under Rashtriya Sam Vikas Yojna of the Centre.
The House was told that seven transformer repairing workshops (TRWs) are functioning at Patna, Gaya, Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Darbhanga, Katihar and Saharsa for the repair of burned transformers and 700 transformers are repaired every month. Thirteen more TRWs would be set up at a cost of Rs 41 crore.

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