R'than gets big central funds, signs power pact

The first anniversary of Vasundhara Raje- led BJP government in Rajasthan was marked by announcements made by the Centre in the field of power and infrastructure for the state.

An agreement was signed between the Centre and the state government under “24X7 Power For All” scheme, which will make Rajasthan the second state in the country to get 24-hour power supply.

At a grand ceremony and a public rally in Jaipur, Union Transport Minister Nitin Gadkari and Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal not only announced massive financial assistance and new projects for the state.

Power minister Piyush Goyal announced Rs 12,000 crore for laying new transmission lines,  Rs 5 crore for improving of power supply mechanism, Rs 540 crore for establishing three solar power plants in Jaisalmer and Jodhpur, Rs 183 crore for upgratation of power sub-stations, construction of 4,950 toilets in schools and replacing  street lights in 10 cities with LED bulbs.

Gadkari praised the development in Rajasthan and announced plans to establish a satellite port in Rajasthan. He assured completion of the pending work on Jaipur-Delhi highway by June 2015. He said that new roads costing Rs 10,000 crore will be constructed in the next one year.