UP govt failed to exploit resources in state: Goyal

Holding the Uttar Pradesh government responsible for bad power scenario in the state, Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal today said that it failed to exploit the resources in the right way.
"The UP government can't properly utilise resources due to which power scenario in the state is bad. The Centre is giving its due support to the state to ensure power in the state," Goyal said while launching Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Electrification Scheme (DDUGJES) here.
"The state government has sought 300 metric tonnes of coal for power generation. However, the Centre is providing 900 metric tonnes of coal," he added.

Goyal said over 20 crore people of the country are deprieved of power and the maximum number of them are in UP.
"By 2019, all village in eastern UP will be electrified," he claimed.
Launching the same scheme in Basti, Goyal said that like Gujarat, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wants 24 hour power supply in UP but the Centre's role is limited to power generation and availability only, the distribution has to be done by the state.

He said the PM had fixed the target of 1,000 days for electrification of village and to achieve it, DDUGJES has been initiated.

"On September 18, PM will launch an integrated power distribution scheme from Varanasi and will also announce several new schemes for cities," Goyal said.
He alleged that in past two five year plans, no money was spent in Basti for electrification but the PM is "eyeing eastern UP" and the Centre is committed to its development.