Jamshedpur, March 30: Consumers of Jharkhand Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (JUVNL) will no longer have to stand in long queues to pay electricity bills. From April, they can simply settle their power bills at the click of the mouse.
Chief minister Raghubar Das shared the good news while laying the foundation of a new power substation at Sidhgora in Jamshedpur this morning.
Addressing a gathering of 500 comprising mostly BJP workers and JUVNL staff, Das said that the electricity board was all set to launch an online payment facility that would allow people to cough up electricity bills through Internet while sitting at home or workplaces, thus ending the long queues at different JUVNL collection centres.
"We will start the facility from April. This is a part of our efforts to make the state-owned electricity board more consumer-friendly and ensure that it provides quality power. However, as we improve the power quality and service, people will also have to be responsible and clear their dues. The board will no longer tolerate power thefts that is continuing with gay abandon in several parts of the state," said Das, who had been pushing for the Sidhgora substation for several years as the local MLA.
The chief minister went on to add that discussions had already been held with the JUVNL top brass and soon, a team of retired army personnel would be constituted for developing a mechanism to check power thefts.
"Any effort to pilfer power will be strictly dealt with according to law from now on," the BJP leader warned.
He also reiterated the government's commitment to developing the mineral-rich state (Jharkhand accounts for nearly 40 per cent of the country's coal reserve) as a "power hub" by 2019.
"We will have surplus electricity by 2019 and start providing power to other states by 2020. Within a few months, the industrial belt of Adityapur and Gamharia will have 10 new substations. This apart, there are plans to have underground wiring in major cities like Ranchi, Jamshedpur and Dhanbad so that power connections are not snapped during major festivities," said Das.
During Ramnavami processions yesterday, JUVNL-fed areas had power connection disconnected for several hours to prevent electrocution.
As for the new substation with two transformers of 5MV capacity each, it is to be built at an estimated cost of Rs 2 crore with a five-month deadline. Das said that with this new project, over one lakh people in different residential areas (non-Tata Steel) of Jamshedpur would get uninterrupted power at good voltage by Durga Puja.
Speaking about other development activities in the power sector, the chief minister said that all MLAs would be asked to adopt 50 villages in each financial year and provide them electricity.
Promising a stringent crackdown on corruption, Das said that a special cell would be constituted at the chief minister's office and anyone could send information about government officials seeking bribe either through SMSes and photographs and action would be taken within 24 hours.
JUVNL managing director (transmission and distribution) Rahul Kumar Purwar was also present at the foundation ceremony.
