Electricity to all in Bihar by 2015: Manjhi

Bihar Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi Tuesday said that electricity will be provided to all the people of the state by increasing its availability to 5,000 MW by 2015.

"We have decided to provide electricity to all in the state by next year," Manjhi said after releasing the report card of his government here.

He said the electricity availability at present is 2,800 MW to 2,900 MW in the state, which is higher from what it was in 2005.

"We are trying to provide 20 to 22 hours of electricity on an average in all district headquarters," he said.

He said former chief minister Nitish Kumar had rightly mentioned that the Janata Dal-United (JD-U) will not ask for votes if power is not provided to all by the next state assembly polls in 2015.

He said Bihar was the only state in India where its own power production was negligible when the JD-U government came to power. Besides, the system of transmission and distribution was in a pitiable state.

Manjhi said the state government has succeeded in its efforts to start the electricity production in plants shut for years. Its production has commenced after the modernisation of the two units of 110 MW at Kanti thermal power project.

Work is in progress on the renewal and modernisation of two units of 110 MW power plant and two units of 250 MW Barauni thermal power project.

"Work is also in progress on three units of 660 MW at Nabinagar and agreement has been signed with Sutlej Jal Vidyut Nigam for the construction of the proposed 1,320 MW power plant at Chausa in Buxar district," he said.

He said an agreement has also been signed for the Pirpanti thermal power project with the NHPC in Bhagalpur district and for Kajra plant with the National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) in Lakhisarai district.