Naveen Patnaik with Atanu Sabyasachi Naik (right) and Badri Narayan Patra (left) at the workshop. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, Sept. 23: The elected representatives of various urban local bodies are against district collectors becoming chairpersons of electrical committee of a district. They made a demand today in this regard during a workshop on “Biju Saharanchal Vidyutikaran Yojana” held in the capital.

“They don’t listen to our suggestions. Therefore, the electrification process gets delayed,” said one of the participants of the workshop.

Inaugurating the workshop, chief minister Naveen Patnaik said to implement the programme, the government provided the municipal corporations with Rs 1 crore, and municipalities Rs 50 lakh each. Notified area councils were entitled to Rs 30 lakh per year.

“The Biju Saharanchal Vidyutikaran was launched this year with an aim to provide power connection to all the slums without electricity as well as the urban areas. The programme also envisages an improvement in electrification of BPL households within the urban areas. The urban local bodies have to play a vital role in implementing this programme,” Naveen said.

He directed the chief of the urban local bodies to complete the schemes within a specific time.