By IANS
New Delhi : Each of India’s 600,000-plus villages will be electrified by 2009 and every household will have electricity by 2012 after the 11th Five-Year Plan is implemented, Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said here Tuesday.
“The capacity addition of over 78,000 megawatt is not an ambitious target. It is crucial for India to grow at over nine percent,” Shinde told the 10th Power Forum, speaking on the topic “Power Sector-Driver of Growth”.
“The targets set by the power ministry for the 11th Five-Year plan will be met,” he said, adding measures being taken will put power generation on fast track and that loopholes in the bidding process for ultra mega projects had been removed.
India currently produces 135,000 MW of power and some 80,000 villages are yet to be electrified, according to power ministry statistics.
Planning Commission Member B.K. Chaturvedi expressed concern over theft of power and said there was an urgent need to plug the leak.
Citing the example of telecom and insurance sectors where permitting free access had created a win-win situation for both the public and private firms, he said a similar approach was necessary for power generation as well.
He said that improvement in equipment delivery system and availability of fuel was another major challenge.