Bhubaneswar: Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik inaugurated 8 Extra High Voltage Grid Substations in 8 districts of the state this evening. These places are Meramundali in Angul, Kantabada in Khurda, Boriguma in Koraput, Lakhanpur in Jharsuguda, Kumarmunda in Sundargarh, Bamra in Sambalpur, Bhatli in Bargarh and Bhadrak.
The state government has invested Rs 650 crore for these grid substations and this will benefit 2 lakh 20 thousand consumers of the state.
Addressing the program through video conferencing, the Chief Minister said that through this the public can get quality and continuous electricity. The Chief Minister said that this is a big success in achieving the goal of electricity for all.
The Chief Minister said that our state has 16,300 circuit kilometers long electricity overhead network and 193 Extra High Voltage grid substations have also been constructed. The Chief Minister said that 99 percent of the people in the urban areas and 97 percent of the rural areas of the state are now getting electricity.
Based on the Niti Aayog report, the Chief Minister said that between 2015-16 and 2019-20, more than 60 lakh people in the state have risen from poverty. He opined that quality electricity has a big role to play in this.
The Chief Minister also said that electricity is the mainstay of modern economy. Stating that electricity is very important for improving the standard of living of the people, the Chief Minister said that providing continuous electricity to the people is one of the main goals of the government and efforts are being made for this.
On this occasion, Rs 103.37 crore from Odisha Power Generation Corporation and Rs 42 crore from OPTCL were given as interim profit of the state government in the presence of the Chief Minister. Along with this, Rs 2 crore from OPGC and Rs 3 crore from OPTCL were given to the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund.
Expressing his happiness, the Chief Minister said that it is a good thing that these two public sector units have become important industries of the state government. He hoped that these two institutions will achieve more success in the coming days.
Energy Minister Pratap Keshari Deb said that with this, the development in the fields of industry, agriculture, education, etc. will be accelerated and people will get quality electricity. He said that while 463 grid substations have been constructed in the state, 100 more are under construction.
On this occasion, Deputy Speaker Rajnikant Singh, Ministers Ashok Panda and Sarada Prasad Naik, Lok Sabha Member Ramesh Chandra Majhi, MLAs Alka Mohanty, Kishore Chandra Naik and Susant Singh attended the event over virtual platform from their respective constituencies and praised the strong leadership of CM.
They said that with this substation, the low-voltage problem in the local area will be solved and the life of common people will be made easier.
The program was moderated by Chief Minister’s Secretary (5-T) VK Pandian. Nikunj Dhal, Additional Principal Secretary, Energy Department delivered the welcome address and the vote of thanks was given by the Chairman and Managing Director of OPTCL.
