Patna, Aug. 16: Chief Minister Nitish Kumar today said prohibition will not result in shortage of funds for development and welfare schemes, and promised electricity to all households by 2017.
"We have been hearing from various quarters that with liquor prohibition the state is going to incur huge revenue loss, but their worries are uncalled for as our government is committed to the development of the state and there will be no shortage of funds," he said at an event at Samvad Bhawan to inaugurate power projects worth Rs 1,050.23 crore,
The chief minister along with state energy minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav inaugurated the schemes, which included power grid substations in Samastipur, Sheohar, Mahnar, Belsand and Bennipatti. With the inauguration of the new substations, their number in the state has gone up to 104. In 2005, when Nitish Kumar first came to power, that number stood at 45.
The energy department has set a target to increase the number of grid substations to 152 by next year.
The chief minister inaugurated new transmission lines, including for Samastipur and Dalsinghsaria-Kusheswarsthan.
Nitish said the power scenario in the state has improved largely due to good distribution system, and the only worry for energy department is to address the grievances of consumers arising due to power cuts and inflated bills.
The CM also announced a toll-free helpline number on which consumers can call to register any complaint related to electricity supply. The number, 1912, was operational in 67 towns from April this year and Nitish today said its reach has been extended to cover all of the state.
"Consumer complaints can be of two types - revenue-related complaints and power-related complaints," explained an electricity department official. Revenue-related complaint would be if a consumer says he has got exaggerated power bills, while if there is a supply breakdown it would be under power-related complaint. "For all types of complaints, a set timeframe has been defined and complaints have to addressed within that time," the department official said. "For instance, a burnt transformer has to be replaced within 24 hours in urban areas while in rural areas it has to be replaced within 72 hours."
The 1912 service centre operates from Patna.
