77 FIRS AGAINST CORRUPT: MINISTER

LUCKNOW: Energy minister Shrikant Sharma said his department had got 77 FIRs registered against unscrupulous officers and contractors found involved in various cases of irregularities and corruption.

“We have issued charge sheet to 79 officers, 19 have been suspended and two have been arrested,” said Sharma while speaking during the special session of the UP Vidhan Sabha on Wednesday. While highlighting ‘zero tolerance’ for corruption, he emphasised on providing clean and cheap energy to all was among the 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) which were discussed in the special session. “We are happy that in 30 months of being in power, we have ensured that clean, efficient and cheap power reaches more than 1 crore households in the state which never had access to power supply. “To ensure that power reaches all, and not just a few VIP districts as was the case earlier, our government has also signed ‘24x7 power for all’ agreement with the centre. Instead of being lit up with kerosene lamps, scores of villages are now enjoying LED power, which is not just efficient but cheaper too,” he said. Sharma also said unlike previous governments, his government worked hard to improve the capacity of the grid from 16348 mega watt in 2016-17 to 24000 mega watts at present.