AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

NT Bureau
Chennai, Apr 3:
 

        State Electricity Minister Arcot N Veerasamy today announced that underground power cables would be laid in all the Corporations replacing overhead lines.

        Replying to a discussion on demands of grants for the Electricity Department, the Minister said as per the direction of Chief Minister M Karunanidhi, cables would be laid at a cost of Rs 1,100 crores in the Corporations of Coimbatore, Salem, Madurai, Tiruchi and Tirunelveli.

        He also assured that during the present DMK rule, underground cables would be laid in all Municipalities too, Veerasamy said electricity connection would be provided to newly- constructed buildings within 24 hours of an application being filed with proper documents. The scheme has been implemented from 1 April, he added.

        He recalled that the scheme had been first launched by the DMK government in 2001 but the AIADMK government which came to power subsequently dropped the scheme.

        The Minister said an ancillary industry for manufacturing wind energy generating equipment would be set up at a cost of Rs 8,000 crore in Kancheepuram.

        The government has acquired 625 acres of land for the same, he said and added that the Union Minister for Non-Conventional Energy Sources had promised to get Special Economic Zone (SEZ) status for it.

        Veerasamy said 26 companies had come forward with investment proposals for Rs 1.60 lakh crore to generate 40,000 MW electricity in the State. 'The Union government also granted permission for the scheme, if implemented the Tamilnadu Electricity Board (TNEB) would get 5 per cent as wheeling charges and Rs 3,000 crore earnings from it,' he informed.

        The Minister also announced that the government had decided to regularise 20,600 contract workers, working in the distribution wing of the Electricity Board in a phased manner. This year, around 6,000 workers would be made permanent based on seniority, he said.

        He denied charges by AIADMK MLA Vishwanthan that the State government was incurring losses to the tune of Rs 400 crore due to purchase of power from GMR, a naphtha-based power generator company.

        Further, the Minister said as per power purchase agreement signed between the company and TNEB, the rate per unit was fixed based on the price of raw materials.As naphtha's price had increased ten-fold in the market, losses were reported, he said while pointing out that the company had proposed to convert it to gas-based power generation but the previous AIADMK government has not granted permission during the last two years of its reign. Once it is converted, the government would earn Rs 900 crore from it.