Hindustan Times (Lucknow)

‘All UP villages to be electrifie­d by Decend’

Union minister says UPPCL officials will have to gear up to achieve target

- HT Correspond­ent letters@hindustant­imes.com ▪

LUCKNOW: Cutting short the target deadline by three months, Union minister of state for power, innovative and renewable energy RK Singh on Thursday said that all villages in Uttar Pradesh would now get a power connection by December 31, 2018. Earlier the deadline was March 31,2019.

“We have undertaken major reforms, overhaulin­g and revamping of the power sector and can say with confidence that power pilfering would be a thing of the past after the installati­on of smart and pre-paid meters,” said Singh after meeting chief minister Yogi Adityanath along with UP power minister Shrikant Sharma to review the Saubhagya Yojana under which a target has been set to electrify all villages and hamlets by the yearend.

“Uttar Pradesh has done a commendabl­e job in electrific­ation and is giving out 42,000 power connection­s daily,” said Singh adding that the state had already given 52.55 lakh power connection­s and the remaining 99 lakh would be issued in the next three months.

He said the UP Power Corporatio­n officials would have to gear up and fast track the process to achieve the target.

The minister said 100 per cent electrific­ation had been achieved in five districts of UP, which included Shamli, Baghpat, Hapur, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad.

Sharma said the Yogi Adityanath Government had spent approximat­ely ₹335 crore on giving power connection­s to 1.67

100% ELECTRIFIC­ATION HAS BEEN ACHIEVED IN FIVE DISTRICTS OF UP, WHICH INCLUDED SHAMLI, BAGHPAT, HAPUR, GAUTAM BUDDH NAGAR AND GHAZIABAD

lakh houses in Baghpat, Gautam Buddh Nagar and Hapur and another 33.92 lakh connection­s were issued under the Saubhagya Yojana benefiting a large number of BPL families.

 ?? HT ?? ▪ Union minister of state for power RK Singh with UP power minister Shrikant Sharma in Lucknow on Thursday.
HT ▪ Union minister of state for power RK Singh with UP power minister Shrikant Sharma in Lucknow on Thursday.

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