From Our Special Correspondent
Daijiworld Media Network
Bengaluru, Aug 11: In his first meeting to review the performance and functioning of the State’s Energy Department after assuming office, Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai on Wednesday asked all the senior officials to unitedly work for making Karnataka self-sufficient in power generation.
Addressing the department officials along with the new Energy and Kannada and Culture Minister V Sunil Kumar, Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar and other top officials at the Chief Minister’s Home Office of Krishna, Bommai wanted the Department officials to draw up long-term plans for augmenting the power production and also effectively managing the distribution throughout the State.
While rural areas in just 15 districts were presently being supplied with barely 7 hours of power, the Chief Minister regretted that rural areas in as many as five districts were not being supplied even 5 hours of power. This disparity in the power supply must be rectified, he said asking the officials to immediately get down to draw up an action plan for ensuring proper and quality power supply in the State uniformly.
The action plan must be implemented in a time-bound manner, he said.
The Chief Minister wanted the power generation and distribution to be systematically managed and the State should be able to supply quality power to the users at higher rates based on market conditions so as to mobilise the revenues. The working of all hydel and thermal power generation plants must be monitored and streamlined and the distribution network must be strengthened to minimise the transmission and distribution losses while taking determined steps to check pilferage.
All the development corporations have set up a target of energising 18,560 borewells under the Ganga Kalyan scheme, he said and promised to consider enhancing the amount for energising of the irrigation pumpsets of borewells to Rs 1.2 lakh from the present Rs 50,000.
The Chief Minister made it clear that there should not be any delay in providing powrer supply to the borewells sunk under the Ganga Kalyan scheme.
He wanted the officials to ensure that there was no disruption in the power supply to the hospitals to ensure that the treatment of Covid patients did not suffer.
Finance Department Additional Chief Secretary I S N Prasad, Energy Department Additional Chief Secretary Kumar Nayak, KPTCL Managing Director Dr N Manjula, Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary N Manjunath Prasad and other senior officials participated in the meeting.
The Chief Minister also held a review meeting on the performance and functioning of the Water Resources Department.
Water Resources Minister Govind M Karjol, Mining and Geology Minister Halappa Achar, Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar, Water Resources Department Additional Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh, Finance Department Additional Chief Secretary I S N Prasad, Chief Minister’s Principal Secretary N Manjunath Prasad, Upper Krishna Project Rehabilitation Commissioner Shivayogi Kalsad, Water Resources Secretary Lakshman Rao Peshwe and other senior officials participated in the meeting.
Earlier in the morning, Karnataka Administrative Reforms Commission Chairman and retired Chief Secretary T M Vijaya Bhaskar called on the Chief Minister and submitted copies of the Commission’s reports.
The Chief Minister declared open 11 branches of Axis Bank in the State at a virtual function. Axis Bank Vice President Baisakhi Banerji, Circle Chief Rama, The Chief Minister declared open 11 branches of Axis Bank in the State at a virtual function. Axis Bank Vice President Baisakhi Banerji, Circle Chief Rama, Bank’s South India Chief Jasmine Shetty participated in the function.