Nitish steps up efforts to improve Bihar's power scenario

During his first term as chief minister of Bihar, Nitish Kumar's priority was building good roads in the state and, having achieved the objective to a large extent, he is now set to make a difference to the sorry state of the power sector in the state, during his current term.

Agency reports quoting unnamed sources in the chief minister's office said the power sector is a priority area for Nitish Kumar in Bihar's development plan.
 
During a review meeting yesterday, Nitish Kumar asked top officials of the state energy department to ensure the timely completion of ongoing projects and improve the transmission system to minimise losses.

The chief minister is said to have directed the officials to replace the defunct 72,000 km electric transmission wires in the state in a phase-wise manner to check distribution loss and ensure supply of electricity to homes.

According to state energy secretary Ravi Kant, the department has decided to replace 25,000 km of 72,000 km defunct wires by the end of March 2011.

According to Bihar State Electricity Board chairman PK Rai, defunct wires were causing distribution loss to the extent of 38 per cent.

Considering the power shortage in the state, Nitish Kumar has also asked top officials to review the progress of procurement of power from unconventional sources of energy.