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Haryana, Uncategorized

Immediate resolution of people’s issues in Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, 3.24 lakh individuals undergo health checkups

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IEP Chandigarh

In pursuit of Prime Minister Sh Narendra Modi’s vision for a developed India, underprivileged individuals are receiving special benefits through the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra. The villagers, who faced challenges in accessing city offices for their tasks, now find convenience as the Yatra facilitates the completion of their work within the village and its vicinity.

Haryana is witnessing tremendous enthusiasm among its people regarding the yatra. With each passing day, the trust of the people in the government is increasing, leading to a growing participation of citizens in this yatra.

A government spokesperson revealed that the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra has so far reached 3,911 gram panchayats/wards in the state. Under the Nirogi Haryana scheme, health check-ups have been conducted for over 3.24 lakh individuals. Additionally, 94000 applications have been received under the Ayushman Chirayu Yojana. Counselling has been provided to over 1 lakh individuals at Sewa Camps during the yatra, and 1.30 lakh applications have been submitted for Praivar Pehchan Patra. Furthermore, more than 37000 applications have been received under the Meri Fasal-Mera Byora Yojana.

In the course of the yatra, over 25000 Svamitva Cards have been distributed, and over 12000 registrations have been issued. Loans and advances have been distributed to more than 12000 individuals, and Sainik and Ardh Sainik Welfare Department provided information to 7,256 individuals as per their inquiries.

The spokesperson stated that more than 23000 other complaints have been received during the yatra, and prompt solutions will be provided by the respective departments.

This initiative not only showcased the achievements of the government’s schemes but also recognized and appreciated the beneficiaries, allowing them to share their stories and experiences. Information about these schemes is disseminated through LED vans, and stalls are set up to create awareness and ensure that citizens avail themselves of the benefits provided by the government.

Haryana

Haryana Government Issues transfer and posting orders for 18 IAS officers

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IEP Chandigarh

Haryana Government has issued transfer and posting orders of 18 IAS officers with immediate effect. D Suresh has been posted as Principal Secretary, Human Resource Department against a newly created post.

Vijay Singh Dahiya, awaiting orders of posting becomes Commissioner, Karnal Division, Karnal relieving Saket Kumar of the said charge.

Amit Kumar Agrawal, Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister,  Director General, Information, Public Relations, Languages and Culture and Secretary, Information, Public Relations, Languages and Culture Department, Project Director, Chief Minister’s Good Governance Associates Programme, Secretary, Grievances Department and Director General, Art & Cultural Affairs, Haryana has been posted as  Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Project Director, Chief Minister’s Good Governance, Associates Programme, Managing Director, Haryana Vidyut Prasaran Nigam Ltd. relieving Mohammed Shayin IAS (HY 2002) of the said charge.

Ashima Brar, Director General, Secondary Education and Secretary, School Education Department, State Project Director, Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad and Director General, Medical Education & Research, and Secretary, Medical Education & Research Department will be new Additional Principal Secretary to Chief Minister relieving Khetmalis Makarand Pandurang. She will also be Director General, Social Justice, Empowerment, Welfare of Scheduled Castes Backward Classes & and Antyodaya (SEWA). and Secretary, Social Justice Empowerment, Welfare of Scheduled Castes & Backward Classes and Antyodaya (SEWA) Department.

C G Rajini Kaanthan, awaiting orders of posting has been posted as Director General, Industries & Commerce, and Secretary, Industries and Commerce Department, Director General, Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises, Advisor, Civil Aviation and Secretary, Haryana Civil Aviation Department Vice Shekhar Vidyarthi who goes as  Director General, Archives, and Secretary, Archives Department, Director General, State Transport, and Secretary, Transport Department.

Phool Chand Meena, District Municipal Commissioner, Gurugram, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Gurugram and Chief Executive Officer, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority, Gurugram has been posed as Managing Director, Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd in place of Amit Khatri who has been posted as Director, Town & Country Planning, and Special Secretary, Town & Country Planning Department, Director, Urban Estates, Director, Archaeology & Museums Haryana and Special Secretary, Archaeology & Museums Department, Chief Executive Officer, Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam Ltd. Panchkula.

A.Sreenivas, Chief Executive Officer, Faridabad Metropolitan Development Authority, Faridabad and Managing Director, HARCO Bank has been given additional charge of Chief Executive Officer, Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority, Gurugram.

Mandip Singh Brar, Director General, Mines & Geology, Haryana and Secretary to Government, Haryana, Mines & Geology Department, Mission Director, Mukhya Mantri Antyodaya Parivaar Utthaan Yojna and Managing Director, Haryana State Warehousing Corporation Ltd. has been posted as Director General, lnformation, Public Relations, Languages & Culture, Haryana and Secretary, lnformation, Public Relations, Languages and Culture Department, Director General, Mines & Geology and Secretary, Mines & Geology Department, Mission Director, Mukhya Mantri Antyodaya Parivaar Utthaan Yojna.

Saket Kumar, IAS (HY:2005), Managing Director, Uttar Haryana Bijli Vitaran Nigam Ltd has been given the additional charge of Director General, Medical Education & Research and Secretary, Medical Education & Research Department.

Khetmalis Makarand Pandurang, Deputy Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Haryana, Chief Executive Officer, Haryana Kaushal Rozgar Nigam Ltd. Panchkula and Director General, Social Justice, Empowerment, Welfare of Scheduled Castes & Backward Classes and Antyodaya (SEWA) and Secretary, Social Justice, Empowerment, Welfare of Scheduled Castes & Backward Classes and Antyodaya (SEWA) Department has been posted as Managing Director, Haryana State Warehousing Corporation Ltd, CEO, Panchkula Metropolitan Development Authority, Panchkula, CEO, Sonipat Metropolitan Development Authority, Sonipat.

Jaibir Singh Arya, awaiting orders posting becomes Special Secretary, Finance Department against a vacant post.

Rajnarayan Kaushik, Special Secretary, Health Department and Mission Director, National Health Mission, Haryana and Chief Executive Officer, Ayushman Bharat Haryana Health Protection Authority has been posted as Director, Agriculture in place of Narhari Singh Banger who becomes District Municipal Commissioner, Gurugram, Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Gurugram.

Jitender Kumar-I, District Municipal Commissioner, Rohtak and Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Rohtak has been posted as Director, Secondary Education, Haryana and Special Secretary, School Education Department, State Project Director, Haryana School Shiksha Pariyojna Parishad.

Aditya Dahiya, Special Secretary, Human Resources Department, Special Secretary, General Administration Department and Secretary, Central Committee of Examinations has been  posted as Special Secretary, Health Department and Mission Director, National Health Mission, Haryana, Chief Executive Officer, Ayushman Bharat Haryana Health Protection Authority.

Sachin Gupta, District Municipal Commissioner, Panchkula and Commissioner, Municipal Corporation, Panchkula has been given the additional charge of Administrator (HO), HSVP, Panchkula against a vacant post.

Punjab

Senior IAS officer Vijoy Kumar Singh assumes charge of special chief secretary to CM

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IEP Chandigarh

Senior IAS officer Mr Vijoy Kumar Singh on Monday assumed the charge of Special Chief Secretary to Chief Minister in the presence of senior officers of the state government.

Chairing a meeting after taking the charge of office, the Special Chief Secretary to Chief Minister said that percolation of pro-people and development oriented policies of the state government led by the Chief Minister Mr Bhagwant Singh Mann will be his top priority. He said that along with it major thrust will be laid on providing clean, efficient, effective, responsive and transparent administration to the people. Mr Vijoy Kumar Singh said that no stone will be left unturned for this noble cause adding he asked the officers to make sure that the people are benefitted by the schemes of the state government.

The Special Chief Secretary also said that as per the commitment of the state government thrust will also be laid on key sectors like education, health, employment, industrial development and others. He also underlined the need for ensuring that people get the benefits of the citizen centric services in a stipulated and time bound manner. Mr Vijoy Kumar Singh further said that a perfect coordination between civil, police and other departments will be ensured so that fillip can be given to the border state.

The Special Chief Secretary to CM urged the officers who came to greet him to discharge their duty diligently and meticulously to ensure that people are benefitted from it.

Notably, the Special Chief Secretary, a senior officer of the Indian Administrative service, had served the state and Union government in various capacities. A 1990 batch IAS officer has worked as Joint Secretary in Department of Personnel and Training, Special Secretary in Ministry of Textiles and Secretary in Department of Ex Servicemen Welfare in Ministry of Defence in Government of India. He is known for his proactive and responsive approach towards public service.

Punjab

Punjab becomes first state to map all accident-prone sites on navigation platform, says DGP

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IEP Chandigarh

In yet another initiative aimed at road safety ahead of the launch of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann’s flagship project ‘Sadak Surakhia Force’, Punjab Police, in a groundbreaking collaboration with MapMyIndia, has meticulously mapped all 784 accident black spots across the state on their navigation system Mappls App, said Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav here on Monday.

          “Citizens navigating using Mappls App will now receive voice alerts in Punjabi alerting the commuters about the black spot ahead, making Punjab the first state to Map accident-prone sites as part of the Road Safety,” he said.

          MapmyIndia’s Mappls app— a 100% swadeshi app developed especially for India, will alert the commuters by giving a voice message “Blackspot 100 meter di doori te hai (Black Spot is 100 meters ahead)”, making Punjab the sole state to map accident-prone locations comprehensively. Accident black spot is a place where road traffic accidents have historically been concentrated.

          Additional Director General of Police (ADGP) Traffic Amardeep Singh Rai, while sharing his insights, emphasised that this driving aid is designed to elevate the overall safe driving experience on Punjab’s roads. He expressed confidence that the proactive implementation of voice alerts in Punjabi is a crucial step towards creating a more informed and vigilant driving community.

          “Punjab takes pride in being the first state in the country to implement such a comprehensive mapping of accident black spots”, he said, while adding that furthermore, this innovative safety feature has been tailored to user preferences, offering voice alerts in regional languages based on individual choices.

          Traffic Advisor Punjab Dr Navdeep Asija said that the collaboration with MapmyIndia represents a significant step forward in our efforts not only to streamline the traffic management across Punjab but also to prioritise the safety of citizens, commuters, and the general public, all without any associated costs.

Punjab

CM Mann releases diary and calendar of the Punjab government for the year 2024

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 IEP Chandigarh

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Monday released the diary and calendar of the Punjab Government for the year 2024 at his residence this morning.

Disclosing this here today a spokesman of the Chief Minister’s Office said that the layout design of the calendar and diary had been conceptualized and prepared by the Information & Public Relations Department and printed by the Controller Printing & Stationery Punjab. 

 Meanwhile, Information and Public Relations Minister Chetan Singh Jouremajra said that after many years the diary and calendar have been released on first day of the year.

 Prominent amongst others present on the occasion included Chief Secretary Anurag Verma, Special Chief Secretary to CM Vijoy Kumar Singh, Secretary Information and Public Relations Malwinder Singh Jaggi, Director Information and Public Relations Bhupinder Singh and others.

Punjab

While governments are selling their assets to private sector, Punjab government creates history by purchasing a private thermal plant: CM

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 IEP Chandigarh

In a New Year bonanza to the residents of the state, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann on Monday said that the state has created history by purchasing Goindwal power plant owned by a private company GVK Power at a cost of Rs 1080 crore.

The Chief Minister said that for the first time this reverse trend has started that the government has purchased any private power plant whereas in the past the state governments used to sell their assets to the favorite individuals at ‘throw away’ prices. He said that the power plant is the cheapest purchase made by any state/private company  as other power plants like Korba West, Jhabua Power and Lanco Amarkantak of capacity 600 MW have been purchased at Rs 1804 crore, Rs 1910 crore and Rs 1818 crore respectively. He said that the 540 MW power plant has been purchased at Rs 2 crore per MW. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this is much less than other power plants whose acquisition has been made at Rs 3 crore per MW. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that will be named as Sri Guru Amardass Thermal Power plant after the third Sikh Guru.

 The Chief Minister said that the available capacity of power plant was 61% whereas it was used only upto 34% but now it will be run to 75-80% thereby augmenting the power generation in the state. He said that with this 33% (1 out of 3 PPA with private thermals) PPAs have been terminated.  Bhagwant Singh Mann quipped that on January 1, 2018 units of Bathinda and Ropar  thermal power plants were closed permanently but today on 1st Jan, the pro-people government has purchased a private power plant to augment power supply of the state.

 The Chief Minister said that as coal from Pachwara coal mine can be used only for government power plants so with purchase of this power plant this coal can be aptly utilized for producing power to provide it to every sector of the state.

The Chief Minister said that this purchase will help in reduction in overall Tariff by over Rs. 1 per unit adding that it will lead to Savings of Rs. 300- 350 crores on power purchase thereby benefiting the consumers of the state. He said that it will also help in higher (More than Double) power generation due to availability of coal from Pachhwara Coal Mine as Plant Load Factor (PLF) is likely to go up to 75 to 80% against average Plant Load Factor (PLF) 34% so far. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that it will also open new Employment opportunities for the youth of the State of Punjab thereby making them an equal partner in the growth and prosperity of the state.

 The Chief Minister further said that 540 (2×270) MW GVK Goindwal Sahib Thermal plant, a MOU route cost plus basis project was envisaged in 1992. He said that initially a PPA for a 500 MW plant was signed in 2000, thereafter a MOU for a 540 MW plant was signed in 2006 followed by an amended PPA for 540 MW in 2009. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the project was commissioned in 2016 but now to purchase it PSPCL along with 11 other contenders ie. Jindal Power, Adani Power, Vedanta Group, Rashmi Metaliks, Sherisha Technologies, Sai Wardha Power, Megha Engineering and Infrastructures, India Coke & Power Pvt. Ltd., RKG Fund (RKG Trust), KLu Resources and Capri Global Holdings & Pvt. Ltd submitted their applications in February 2023 after which PSPCL finally bagged it.

 The Chief Minister further said that between 2016-2023, the state government had purchased 11165 million units of power by paying Rs 7902 crore. He said that ironically the GVK thermal plant was paid Rs 1718 crore fixed cost without even getting power adding that average per unit of Rs 7.08 per unit was paid to the power plants. However, Bhagwant Singh Mann said that estimated per unit cost after acquisition with Pachwara coal will now be Rs 4.50 per unit adding that it will save Rs 300-350 crore per annum which will be judiciously utilized for the well being of people.

 The Chief Minister said that till December 31 all the pending arrears of the PSPCL have already been paid. He said that with the acquisition of this plant there will be three government and two private thermal plants operational in the state now. Bhagwant Singh Mann recalled that he had performed as an artist in 2009 during the event to start this project but he is fortunate that God has now chosen him to purchase this plant for the state to augment its power supply.

 The Chief Minister also announced to review the PPA for the purchase of solar power in the state. He said that the state government has purchased the solar power now at Rs 2.54 paise whereas during the earlier tenures exorbitant amount of even Rs 15 was paid for same purchase. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this will be reviewed by all means and anyone who had minted money by bringing loss to state exchequer will be brought to book.

 Replying to a query, the Chief Minister said that the great martyrs including Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Shaheed Rajguru, Shaheed Sukhdev, Lala Lajpat Rai, Shaheed Udham Singh, Shaheed Kartar Singh Sarabha, Mai Bhago, Ghadari Baabe and others cannot be kept in rejected category. He said that the union government is trying to belittle their contribution and sacrifice of these heroes by not including their tableaus in the Republic Day parade. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that this cannot be tolerated as it is the grave insult of these great patriots and national leaders.

 The Chief Minister said that state BJP chief Sunil Jakhar is completely lying on the issue of tableaus as he is yet to master the art of lying as per wish of his masters. He said that Jakhar had recently joined BJP so he is yet to adapt himself in reading the scripts prepared by their high command. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that it is unfortunate that BJP leadership is thinking about tableaus without even bothering to include state in it.

Haryana

Youth should lead India to Prosperity, says Haryana Minister

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IEP Chandigarh

Haryana School  Education, Forests, and Environment Minister Kanwar Pal called on the youth to lead India to prosperity as they are the generation of ‘Amrit kaal’ and should contribute to make India a developed Nation. Kanwar Pal while addressing the Viksit Bharat- Jan Samvad Sankalp Yatra in the villages Shahzadwala, Sipianwala, Chuharpur Mangalsingh, Tibbi Raiyan and Tugalpur of Jagadhari region of Haryana, said that the youth are the future of India and they have the power to make the country a developed nation.

He praised the central government’s welfare schemes, such as Ayushman Bharat, Startup India, Jal Jeevan Mission, and Pradhan Mantri Ujjwala Yojana. He said that these schemes are helping to improve the lives of lakhs of Indians.

Kanwar Pal also praised the government’s efforts to reach out to the last person in the society. He said that government officers are now going door-to-door to provide benefits to eligible citizens. At the end of the event, participants took a pledge to make India a developed nation by 2047. A short film on the achievements of the central and Haryana governments was also screened.

Punjab

Meet Hayer releases sports university’s new year calendar

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IEP Chandigarh, December 31

Punjab Sports Minister Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer today released the New Year calendar on the eve of the New Year, highlighting the sporting achievements of Punjab. This calendar has been prepared by Maharaja Bhupinder Singh Punjab Sports University, Patiala in which all the award winning sportspersons of Punjab have been included. Two calendars have been prepared, one wall calendar and the other table calendar.

These calendars were released in the presence of Special Chief Secretary Saravjit Singh and Punjab Sports University Vice Chancellor Lt General (Retd) J.S. Cheema.

Congratulating all the Punjabis and the sportspersons on New Year, the Sports Minister said that Punjab has a rich sports heritage and Punjabi players have made the mark with their sporting prowess all over the World. The State Government under the leadership of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann is making continuous efforts to restore the state’s lost glory in sports. In the very first year of the new sports policy, the Punjabi players while breaking a 72-year-old record of Asian Games, won a total of 20 medals, including 8 gold medals.

Meet Hayer said that so far the players of Punjab have won 4 Padma Bhushan, 24 Padma Shri, 4 Khel Ratna Puraskar, 129 Arjuna Awards, 15 Dronacharya Awards, 21 Dhyan Chand Awards and 5 Tenzing Norgay Awards. All 202 Awardees have been included in the calendar.

Divulging more details Lt. Gen. (retd.) J.S. Cheema said that the unique aspect of the calendar is that the month of March, which is International Women’s Day, includes all the award-winning Women players, and the month of May, which is World Athletics Day, includes all the Award winners of Athletics. There are many award-winning sportsmen in a family like father-son, brothers, husband-wife, uncle-nephew etc. All these have been given a special place in the calendar.

Punjab

Punjab police bust international drug and arms smuggling cartel; two held with 19-kg heroin, 7 pistols & Rs 23L drug money

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IEP CHANDIGARH/AMRITSAR, December 31:

Amidst the ongoing campaign to make Punjab a safe and secure state as per the vision of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann, Punjab Police on Sunday busted a cross-border drug and arms smuggling racket being operated by USA-based smuggler Manpreet alias Mannu Mahawa with the arrest of its two key persons from Amritsar.

Director General of Police (DGP) Punjab Gaurav Yadav has identified the arrested persons as Sandeep Singh alias Laddi, a resident of Guru Ki Wadali in Amritsar and Roshan, a resident of Heir in Amritsar.

He said that Police teams have also recovered 19kg heroin, Rs 23 lakh drug money, 7 pistols— including one sophisticated 9mm Glock, three .30 bore pistols and three .32 bore pistols— along with Pak stamped ammunition, currency counting machine and drone equipment including a remote controller and spare fans from their possession, besides, impounding their Hyundai Verna car (PB06BB4064), in which they were going to supply the heroin consignment.

DGP Gaurav Yadav said that preliminary investigations have revealed that the accused persons were directly in touch with USA-based smuggler Mannu Mahawa and were supplying heroin across the state after smuggling from Pakistan. Apart from the investigating backward and forward linkages, Amritsar Commisionerate Police teams are also working on the financial investigation on the Hawala links and property details for getting them freezed, he added.

Sharing details of the operation, Commissioner of Police (CP) Amritsar Gurpreet Singh Bhullar said that Police teams have received reliable inputs that associates of smugglers Mannu Mahawa have retrieved the heroin consignment sent by Pak-based smugglers from across the border and were on the way to deliver it to someone.

“Acting promptly, Police teams from CIA Staff-3 under the supervision of DCP Harpreet Mandher, ADCP City-3 Abhimanyu Rana and ACP Central Surinder Kumar conducted a special police checking in the area of Islamabad and arrested both the accused persons when they were waiting for someone to deliver the consignment,” he said.

CP Bhullar said that further efforts are being made to ascertain the total quantity of narcotics and weapons procured by the arrested accused so far.

A case FIR no. 298 dated 31.12.2023 has been registered under sections 21 and 29 of the NDPS Act and section 25 of the Arms Act at Police Station Islamabad in Amritsar.

Punjab

Power department faced many challenges, set new records in year 2023: Harbhajan Singh

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IEP Chandigarh, December 31

Presenting an account of the performance of the Power Department during the year 2023, Punjab Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO on Sunday said that the department successfully faced many challenges besides setting new records during this year while providing free power to more than 90 percent of the domestic consumers by providing the facility of free electricity of 600 units bimonthly or 300 units monthly, besides providing free power to the 100 percent of the tube wells for agriculture in the state.

Disclosing this in a press statement issued here, the Power Minister said that with the efforts of Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann led Punjab Government the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited (PSPCL) witnessed a profit of Rs 564.75 crore from April 1, 2023 to September 30, 2023. He said that the PSPCL has successfully managed to overcome the challenges in operationalizing the Pachhwara Central Coal Mine, which was closed for past 7 years, and the dispatch of low-cost coal from this mine as compared to the costly imported coal to PSPCL thermal power stations was started in December 2022. He said that about 30 Lac Metric Tonne coal has been supplied to PSPCL thermal power stations till now. He said sufficient coal stock for about 30 days is available at Ropar and Lehra Mohabbat plants. He further added that about 20 percent more power has been generated by the state government thermal plants this year. He said that earlier the practice of short-term power purchase agreements was followed which resulted into purchase of expensive power in the hour of need. He said that now the PSPCL has been planning well in advance to make power purchase arrangements at competitive prices.

He said that the Punjab PSPCL has been awarded by the Union Power Ministry as the top performing company among power distribution companies (Discoms) across the country for energy conservation measures under the PAT (Performance, Achievement and Business) programme. He said that during the PAT Cycle II, 80,686 Energy Saving Certificates were issued to PSPCL. He said that the value of each energy saving certificate is worth about Rs 1840, thus the total cost of these amounts to Rs 14.84 crore.

Power Minister Harbhajan Singh ETO said that the highest ever demand of 15,293 MW of power was met on June 23 this year, which was 7 percent higher than the highest demand of 14,311 MW of met on June 29, 2022. He said that apart from this, a day’s record energy demand of 3427 lakh units was met on September 9 this year, while in year 2022 the record energy demand of 3345 lakh units was met on June 29. He said that during the paddy season this year, more than 8 hours of supply was ensured for the irrigation without imposing any power cuts to domestic, commercial, industrial and other consumers. He said that during this year the available transmission capacity (ATC limit) was increased from 7100 MW to 9000 MW to import more power from outside the state.

Highlighting the initiatives taken to ensure sustainable and affordable solar power for the state, ETO said that the state government has signed Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs) on July 21 this year, under which 1000 MW of solar power from projects located anywhere in India to be procured at Rs 2.53 per KVH and 200 MW of solar power from projects located anywhere in Punjab will be procured at the rate of Rs.2.75 per KWH. He said that 800 MW solar/hybrid power project was fully commissioned by December 2022 and power has started flowing in the PSPCL system at 2.63/kWh to Rs.  2.76/KWH. He said that additional Solar power of 400 MW is further scheduled to be commissioned by March 2024.

Referring to the improvement in power infrastructure, the power minister said the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) has been sanctioned for Rs. 3,873 Crores to augment or improve the distribution infrastructure such as 66kV lines & 66kV Power Transformers, 11kV feeders, 11kV DTRs etc. He said the Detail Project Report (DPR) for the modernisation works amounting to around Rs. 6000 Crore is expected to be approved by the Government of India by March 2024.

Referring to the efforts made to further prioritize and streamline services for the industrial sector, the Power Minister said that PSPCL has launched a dedicated cell – Industrial Facility Cell (IFC) this year, which is being monitored by the office of Chairman cum Managing Director of PSPCL. He said that a dedicated helpline WhatsApp number 9646119141 and an email address industrial-cell@pspcl.in have been launched under this initiative. He said that the industrialists can easily register their complaints through this WhatsApp number or email, and these complaints are being dealt with on a priority basis by giving immediate attention. He said that the PSPCL has also made arrangements for mobile transformers to immediately resume power supply by replacing the defective transformers. 

Disclosing the figures of recruitments in the Power Department and features of newly launched Accident Compensation Policy, Harbhajan Singh ETO said that from April 1, 2022 to December 15, 2023, a total of 4446 recruitments were made for various posts in the Power Department, including 3662 persons in PSPCL and 784 in PSTCL. He said that a new Accident Compensation Policy was also implemented this year for the welfare of workers and provision has been recently made regarding payment of ex-gratia amounting to Rs 10 Lakh in case of death due to an accident occurring during the course of employment and group insurance of Rs. 10.00 Lakh for the contractual workers hired by PSPCL as well as hired by contractors and outsourced agencies. He said the policy also covers private persons (Adults as well as minor) both in case of fatal and non-fatal accidents.

He said that One Time Settlement (OTS) scheme has been launched this year for defaulting consumers so that they can pay their dues. He said that earlier compound interest was charged at the rate of 18 percent on the outstanding payment, but under this scheme, the interest rate was reduced to a simple rate of interest of 9 percent. He said that under this scheme, the consumers whose connection has been disconnected for less than 6 months will not be charged any fixed charges while the fixed charges for only for 6 months was charged in case the connection was disconnected for a duration of more than 6 months. He said that option of paying the default amount in four installments was also provided under this scheme.

ETO said that the Power department also undertook the work on war footing to restore power at 595 places affected by floods across the state. He said that the PSPCL bear damage worth Rs 16 crores to the infrastructure due to floods. He said that officials and employees of PSPCL worked day and night to restore power supply in the affected areas, giving top priority to critical infrastructure like hospitals, medical facilities, telecommunication and water supply etc.