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In SP’s rule, only one dist received regular power supply: Energy minister
“During the SP regime, regular power supply was limited to just one district. On the contrary, the BJP government is ensuring regular power supply across the state,” said AK Sharma.
LUCKNOW Taking a leaf from chief minister Yogi Adityanath’s playbook, state energy minister Arvind Kumar Sharma also took a swipe at Samajwadi Party (SP) president Akhilesh Yadav while responding to a question on power supply in the House.
On Wednesday, SP MLA Pankaj Malik asked the incumbent government about its stand on waiving off electricity bills for farmers to ensure adequate power for the agricultural sector. In response, Sharma said, “During the SP regime, regular power supply was limited to just one district. On the contrary, the BJP government is ensuring regular power supply across the state. Earlier, those who wanted to enjoy free power supply, cover from vigilance raids, and freedom from any scrutiny shifted to Etawah.”
The minister’s statement is being seen as a veiled attack on SP chief Akhilesh Yadav. It alludes to the allegation that Akhilesh’s home district Etawah received special attention during the SP rule while other regions were neglected.
During his address, Sharma also highlighted that new power production units are being constructed at the Jawaharpur thermal power plant and the Panki Thermal power station. Besides, the expansion work has been launched at Harduaganj thermal power station and Ghatampur thermal power plant, the minister added.
The minister also pointed out that out of the 20,00 electricity feeders in the state, about 5,000 are reserved for the agricultural sector. Further, the state government has allocated ₹2,500 crore in the 2023-24 Budget for providing free power supply to the farmers.
The minister added that the state government has started the process to provide electric connections to 1.21 lakh hamlets in the state. “The U.P. government has urged the Centre to allot funds for remaining 36,900 hamlets under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS),” Sharma told the House.
