Ranchi, Nov. 11: Thanks to their own efforts, residents of 15 villages of Angara block will not have to bank on the rural electrification programme of the state government for the gift of electricity.

A captive power plant has been set up at a cost of Rs 2 crore with the help of Sirsh Urja Samiti, an organisation of residents. An NGO, Society for Rural Industrialisation, at Tati Singari in Angara block has also pitched in.

The plant, the state?s first self-managed power plant, was inaugurated by the director of Jharkhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (JREDA) Sanjoy Sinha today.

Chief minister Arjun Munda was supposed to inaugurate it, but could not turn up much to the disappointment of the villagers.

The plant will make use of biomass, which includes dried twigs, for production. It has a production capacity of 100 KW and will cater to the needs of 15 villages of the Tati panchayat. Around 900 families will benefit from the project.

Speaking on the occasion, Sinha promised to ensure that at least 10 such power plants come up in the state in the next year.

?Biomass, till now, was used only in traditional chulhas. Moreover, the fuel has never been utilised to its maximum,? he said.

Sinha added that the most important part of the project is the direct involvement of people in the programme.

?Though 100 KW might not be a very high figure, but the best part is that a large population will benefit from the programme,? he said.