Power in Cachar villages by 2009

Power in Cachar villages by 2009

OUR CORRESPONDENT TELEGRAPH INDIA
Times to change

June 11: By March 2009, all villages in Cachar will have electricity and for a change, the administration is not making empty promises. It has already embarked on the project with all its might. Till May-end, 104 villages of the district have been electrified while 168 more villages will be wired by July.

The Power Grid Corporation has been given the charge of implementing the scheme.
Initially, 890 villages were selected to be electrified in the first phase, said the zonal executive director (Northeast) of Power Grid Corporation, P.C. Pankaj. The Centre has released Rs 65 crore for the job.

He said the scheme has now been modified and the target revised, and an additional Rs 59 crore will be sanctioned. The target now is to light up houses of 110,476 underprivileged families out of the 1,66,410 identified as living below the poverty line.

Three 33KV sub-stations will be set up in Borkhala, Sonai and Banskandi of Cachar district. Three will be extended in Kalain, Kabuganj and Pailapool. Not only Cachar, but the benefits of electrification have spilled on to the two other Barak Valley districts as well.

While Rs 44 crore has been sanctioned for rural electrification in Karimganj district, Hailakandi will receive Rs 25 crore for the same. Work of rural electrification will soon start in both the districts.