Srinagar, (Samajweekly) In a step towards augmenting the power capacity by strengthening the power infrastructure in Jammu and Kashmir, Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha on Wednesday inaugurated 42 Transmission and Distribution projects executed by Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Department (JKPDD), worth Rs 357 crore, here at Anantnag.
The Lt Governor said that the newly executed power projects will substantially improve the power supply in all 10 districts of the Kashmir Division. “I believe the operationalization of these augmented facilities will ensure all-round development in the region”, he added.
Recalling that in August 2019, the Prime Minister had laid the foundation of a developed and progressive Jammu and Kashmir, the Lt Governor noted that the UT administration had ensured to the common citizens the access to basic necessities of quality roads, electricity and water on priority basis.
While speaking on the reforms introduced by the government, the Lt Governor highlighted the initiatives taken to strengthen and improve J&K’s power infrastructure which had remained dilapidated for the last several decades.
“Our AT&C losses are high and it is our social obligation to make power a self-sustaining, fast-growing sector of J&K”, the Lt Governor said.
To address the current power deficit, we have initiated a large-scale capacity augmentation programme. In 70 years, J&K was able to harness only 3500 MW, and now generation capacity is set to be doubled in three years and trebled in seven years, added the Lt Governor.
Currently, Transmission and Distribution projects worth Rs 2,000 crore are being completed, and an additional amount of Rs 6,000 crore has been allocated by the central government to strengthen the Sub-Transmission and Distribution network across the UT.
This will help the administration to bridge the basic infrastructural gap between cities and villages, observed the Lt Governor.
Since August 2019, 3806 MVA has been added to the total capacity as compared to the 8394 MVA capacity achieved in seven decades. Once the prestigious Ladakh-Jammu Kashmir-Punjab transmission line project gets the final nod by the central government, there will be no dearth of power availability in J&K, he added.
