23,000 new power connections for farmers in Rajasthan
-
24/07/2008
-
Hindu (New Delhi)
They would help agriculturists during the next rabi season
JAIPUR: Jaipur Vidyut Vitaran Nigam has set a target of releasing 23,000 new agricultural power connections in 12 districts of Rajasthan falling in its jurisdiction and decided to speed up the issue of connections from next month.
Jaipur Discom Chairman and Managing Director R.G. Gupta said here on Wednesday that 25,676 demand notices were issued to farmers in April in addition to 4,437 pending since the previous financial year. Of the 23,047 new connections to be released this year, 2,037 have already been issued.
Addressing a review meeting of senior Discom officers here, Mr. Gupta said the release of new connections would help agriculturists in the irrigation of the next rabi crops. The work in various districts will be speeded up from the first month of August.
Mr. Gupta said the transmission and distribution losses had registered a decline by five per cent and added that disciplinary action would be launched against the officers looking after the divisions and sub-divisions where T&D losses were not coming down.
The progress of releasing electricity connections to the remote hamlets under the "Mukhya Mantri Sabke Liye' (Chief Minister for all) scheme was also reviewed on the occasion. Mr. Gupta said the work was in progress to release power connections to 2,500 hamlets this year.
Over 130 villages in the Jaipur Discom's jurisdiction will also be electrified this year under the Rural Electrification Scheme. Mr. Gupta said the discom would receive applications for new connections from the hamlets even after the July 31 deadline.
Underlining the need for reducing T&D losses in all towns and villages with a population of more than 5,000, Mr. Gupta said as many as 28,000 new domestic power connections were released to the families living below the poverty line during the current financial year.