Minister for PHE, Irrigation and Flood Control, Sham Lal Choudhary and Minister for Power Development, Sunil Kumar Sharma today chaired a joint meeting of PDD and PHE departments to review the functioning of the twin departments.The crucial meeting convened to review power and water supply scenario in Jammu division amid scorching heat was attended by MLA East, Rajesh Gupta, MLA Bishnah , Kamal Arora, MLA Akhnoor, Rajiv Sharma, MLA Khour, Dr Krishan Lal Bhagat, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Hemant Kumar Sharma, Chief Engineers Ashok Gandotra, Ashwani Gupta, Avinash Dubey , Superintendent Engineers, J S Chib, Ajay Singh Wazir, Ashwani Sachdeva, Executive Engineers , Padam Dev Singh, Neel Kamal Singh, Ashok Chaudhary, Ajay Sharma, Rajeev Gupta, Nand Kishore Gupta, Rajesh Gupta and other senior functionaries of the two Departments.During the meeting, the MLAs raised the issues and demands including installation of transformers, providing dedicated feeders, replacement of old pipes, wires and poles, commissioning of tube wells, panel improvement, proper layouts of water pipes, increase in man power, repair of damaged infrastructure and many other issues pertaining to streamlining of the water and power supply in their respective constituencies.Responding to the issues, the Ministers said that the government is making dedicated efforts to provide all basic amenities to the people at their doorsteps.
The Ministers assured them that the measures are underway to improve and upgrade the existing infrastructure of PHE and PDD departments with special focus on Border areas.The Ministers asked the functionaries of the departments to adopt realistic approach to resolve issues and overcome impediments in maintaining the regular supply of water and electricity to the people. The departments were directed to submit detailed reports with the recommendations for steps to be taken to ensure uninterrupted water and power supply to the stressed areas.The Ministers said that the maintenance of assets at PHE installations is a critical issue and directed for formation of proposal and submission of the report in 2 days mentioning a proper mechanism.Sham Lal Choudhary discussed various issues of PHE department and stressed on the need to make available more power infrastructure for the smooth supply of water. The PHE Minister further stressed upon the PDD department to provide dedicated transformers to PHE department and emphasized on synchronized efforts by both the departments to ensure prompt public delivery system.He said that the changes shall be visible on ground and directed the concerned functionaries to take immediate action on critical areas to make sure that the relief will be provided to the people in the summer season.
Sunil Sharma asked the PDD functionaries to assess the damage to the power infrastructure in the recent rains and storms and directed them to expedite the repair work to ensure uninterrupted power supply in affected areas. He said that the PHE department will always be on the priority of PDD and exhorted upon the department to upgrade the existing power infrastructure including maintenance and bifurcation of feeders. He directed the concerned officers to work out a comprehensive plan for shifting of loads and take necessary steps to curtail the power pilferage.Sunil Sharma said that the proper implementation of various schemes like Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – 'Saubhagya' and many more will ensure quality power supply to every household of the state.The Power Development Minister said that he recently met with Union Minister of State, Power R K Singh and discussed with him the vital power development projects undertaken by Union Government in the State for strengthening of distribution in urban and rural areas, projects including intrastate transmission system, smart metering projects and Smart Grid projects.The Ministers directed the senior functionaries of the concerned departments to personally monitor the supply of water and power and take strict actions against the erring officers.The Ministers directed for submission of detailed report of requirements of both departments and asked for holding meetings of the departments after every 15 days.