Chief Minister inaugurates Rajpura plant unit; availability now exceeds last year’s peak demand Inaugurating the first unit (700 MW) of the 1,400 MW Super Critical Rajpura Thermal Power Station, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today declared Punjab "the only power surplus state in the country". With the unit's commissioning, the state's power availability has exceeded its last year's peak power demand of 8,900 MW. After the commissioning of all the three upcoming thermal plants (expected by August 2014), Punjab will have 11,991 MW of its own. The Rajpura plant has been constructed by Larsen & Toubro at Nalas village. It is the second private thermal plant to be inaugurated. Earlier, a 660 MW unit of the 1,980 MW Talwandi Sabo thermal plant became operational at Banawala village on November 25. Ignoring the five-day state mourning declared by the Centre to condole the death of Nelson Mandela, the state government held a function to celebrate the plant's commissioning on the occasion of Chief Minister's 86th birthday. Punjabi singer Miss Pooja and a live orchestra enthralled the gathering. The function was held a few kilometers away from the plant site. Addressing the gathering at Mirzapur village, Badal claimed the SAD-BJP government had fulfilled one of its major promises "by making Punjab not only self-reliant in the power sector but also a surplus state". "Availability of power is instrumental for all sectors, agriculture, industry, domestic or services. Now, its scarcity will be a thing of past," he said. Showering praise on his son and Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal, he said: "Sukhbir is trying hard to showcase Punjab as a major investment destination despite efforts to the contrary by the Congress. We are determined to make the state economically vibrant in the next few years." He accused the state Congress of ruining state's industry. Its (Congress') policies had hit the common man the most due to which the Congress faced defeat in the assembly elections in four states. Earlier in his speech, Sukhbir said: "We have achieved the target of a power surplus state. The Progressive Punjab Investors Summit will not only fetch massive investments but also help create jobs for lakhs of Punjabi youth". Prominent among those present included Rajya Sabha MP Balwinder Singh Bhunder, Cabinet Ministers Surjit Singh Rakhra, Sikander Singh Maluka, Madan Mohan Mittal and Chunni Lal Bhagat, state BJP president Kamal Sharma, Chief Parliamentary Secretaries NK Sharma, Babu Parkash Chand Garg and Mohinder Kaur Josh, MLAs Varinder Kaur Loomba and Justice Nirmal Singh (retd), Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister KJS Cheema, Secretary Power Anirudh Tiwari and PSPCL Chairman KD Chaudhary. On the sidelines ... After the function, there was a chaos on roads, mainly on the Rajpura-Patiala stretch While the police were busy making way for ministers and senior police officers, motorists were at the receiving end People started leaving the venue after Sukhbir’s speech even as the CM was yet to address the gathering Seated on the stage, Sukhbir was constantly on his cellphone, perhaps getting updates on the assembly election results Only a few photographers were allowed at an official function at the plant site The Chief Minister cut the cake on stage with just one candle on it Punjabi singer Miss Pooja and a live orchestra enthralled the gathering Power scenario update State's total generation capacity is 8,071 MW. It is 3,889 MW from hydro electric projects; 1,260 MW from Guru Gobind Singh Super Thermal Plant, Ropar; 460 MW from Guru Nanak Dev Thermal Plant, Bathinda; 920 MW from Guru Hargobind Thermal Plant, Lehra Mohabbat; and the remaining from various projects, including Ranjit Sagar, Shanan Power Plant. Villagers boycott function Residents of nearby villages whose land was acquired for the Rajpura thermal plant boycotted the function. They alleged that they had not been given their due. "It is better to watch a cricket match than to hear the Akali government take credit for the plant raised with money collected from honest tax-payers," a villager said.