Power supply to Karnataka's rural households in 100 days: Energy Minister V Sunil Kumar

Karnataka Energy Minister V Sunil Kumar on Tuesday announced a new programme in which all rural households devoid of electricity will be given connections in the next 100 days.

“In the next 100 days, houses constructed in rural areas that have not been able to get power supply will be powered up,” Kumar told reporters.

Known as Belaku, the programme will power up rural households without requiring a no-objection certificate from the local bodies, Kumar said. “All houses will be given electricity supply.”

Kumar said officials had instructions to prepare an action plan for the work needed to be done over the next 100 days in both Energy and the Kannada & Culture departments.

Another programme that will be taken up on mission mode over 100 days is the setting up of more than 60 sub-stations through the Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. “This will help provide uninterrupted power supply for seven hours to agricultural pumpsets, especially in north Karnataka,” Kumar said.

Further, the minister has set a 30-day time limit for farmers’ borewells to be electrified. “Farmers are given bore wells under the Ganga Kalyana scheme. But, there’s a delay in the power supply. No farmer should be forced to visit our power offices,” he said.

The government is also thinking of installing recharge centres for electric vehicles in districts and tourist attractions, Kumar said.

To trim expenditure, Kumar said there was a plan to install prepaid electricity metres in all government offices. “This is a preliminary thought. There are bill-related problems in government offices and the financial burden is increasing for us,” he said.

Artist database

In 100 days, Kumar said the Kannada & Culture department would prepare a database of all artists in the state. “There are thousands of talented artists. Some manage to reach ministers, some connect with officials and some reach Bengaluru. Thousands remain behind in villages. So, we want to have a comprehensive data bank,” he said.

The minister pitched for Rajyotsava awardees to be selected without them having to apply. “The process of identifying achievers should be done across the state,” he said.

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