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`Electricity to all houses'
Our Bureau
Kolkata
,
Feb 27
"All houses in the country, even in remote villages, will have access to electricity by March, 2009," the Union Power Minister, Mr Sushilkumar Shinde, has said.
He clarified that the UPA Government at the Centre was committed to implement the target under the Rajiv Gandhi Grama Vidyut Yojana, which began from April, 2005.
Speaking newspersons here today, Mr Shinde said that all out efforts were being made to create an additional 100,000 MW power generation capacity in the country, before the end of the Eleventh Plan (2011-12) so that the Government could fulfil its commitment on "electricity to all".
However in the mid-term appraisal report of his Ministry, the capacity addition during the Tenth Plan had been scaled down from 41,000 MW to 34,000 MW. The Minister said the original target could not be achieved because of lack of linkage of gas and oil.
He said an additional 23,000 MW capacity had been added in the current five-year Plan, as compared to the actual creation by 50 per cent of the targeted capacity set for the same period in the Eighth and Ninth Plans.
MEGA THERMAL PLANTS
Mr Shinde said the capacity addition of about 20,000 MW was expected from five mega thermal power projects, each with a capacity of 4,000 MW. These projects were to set up through private initiatives, at Mundra in Rajasthan, Sasan in Madhya Pradesh, Konkan region in Maharashtra, Karwar in Karnataka and Akaltara in Chhattisgarh.
Meanwhile, global tenders had been floated inviting Expression of Interests for Mundra and Sasan projects within the stipulated date on February 27, while tenders for other three projects would be floated soon.
However, requests for qualification for the projects would be entertained even after the schedule expiry date of EoI. He felt that all the mega projects would be ready by 2011.
DABHOL PROJECT
Mr Shinde said the generation at Block-III (740 MW) of the Dabhol project in Maharashtra would resume from May, while the Block 1 & II of this power company would begin generation by December this year. The resumption of generation from Block I & II would take time because the plant and equipment were not in good condition and required thorough overhauling.
He said that there would be no dearth of naphtha in the country to resume generation. Incidentally, the Dabhol's re-gasification plant would be ready by September.
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