By IANS
Raipur : The Chhattisgarh State Electricity Board (CSEB) said Thursday it has been supplying electricity round the clock to all 18 districts of the state from Jan 1, but opposition Congress party called it a “totally fake claim”.
“As per our commitment, all the 18 districts are getting power round the clock from Jan 1,” CSEB chairman Rajeeb Ranjan told newsmen, adding: “Chhattisgarh has become the country’s first power-cut free state”.
Although the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is projecting this as a “great achievement”, hoping it would help the party with the assembly elections to be held later this year, the state’s Congress party unit termed it “a claim lacking in fact”.
“In a bid to help the BJP government improve its fast sagging image in public, the CSEB has been purchasing power from Raigarh-based Jindal Steel and Power Ltd (JSPL) unit and also from Korba-based Sterlite group-owned Balco at high rates at the cost of public money,” state Congress general secretary Ramesh Varlyani told IANS.
“Power availability has definitely improved in state’s rural areas from Jan 1, but 24-hour supply is a totally fake claim,” the Congress leader said.
CSEB officials said the board currently has 2,200 MW power available against peak hour demand of about 2,100 MW, with 1,410 MW coming from its own coal and hydro units while the rest is being supplied by state-based private players.
“The state’s urban belts had always been getting 24-hour supply but the problem was in rural areas where at least 6-8 hour daily power cuts was in practice. But from Jan 1 power cut in the state including rural hamlets is just history,” an official of the state’s energy department said.
He also said Chhattisgarh has entered into deals with 34 private firms since the state came into being November 2000 for setting up coal-fired power projects totalling 30,000 MW with an investment worth Rs.1.35 trillion ($34 billion).