Minister for Health and Medical Education, Social Welfare and Education, Sakeena Itoo today chaired a meeting at Civil Secretariat here and conducted an extensive review of the electricity supply and distribution framework in Kulgam district.
The meeting was attended by MD KPDCL, Mehmood Shah; Special Secretary Power Development department; Chief Engineer KPDCL, SE KPDCL Bijbehara ; Executive Engineer KPDCL Kulgam; all Assistant Executive Engineers of Kulgam and other concerned officers.
During the meeting, the Minister took detailed assessment of ground-level challenges, gauged the adequacy of power infrastructure and addressed consumer grievances, besides measures taken for augmentation of power infrastructure in the district.
Speaking during the meeting, Minister Sakeena expressed serious concern over arbitrary and unjustified hikes in electricity bills of common masses, particularly belonging to lower income families, causing acute distress among households. She stressed upon the officers to ensure reliable power supply, affordability and transparency in billing.
The Minister impressed upon the Chief Engineer KPDCL to conduct a load survey in the district before any hike in power tariffs is made. She also asked the Executive Engineer to submit a detailed report regarding load revisions carried across the district in the last three years.
The Minister also asked the officers to organise grievance camps in D.H Pora, Malwan, Khull and other far off areas having maximum disputes related to arbitrary hike in power bills. She also asked them to implement stringent monitoring mechanisms to prevent any arbitrary escalation in electricity charges. She further instructed the PDD officers to conduct thorough audits of billing systems and load sanction to ensure accuracy and fairness in consumer billing practices.
Minister Sakeena reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to providing uninterrupted, affordable and efficient electricity supply to every citizen, adding that any malpractice in billing or power distribution will not be tolerated at all.
Meanwhile, during the meeting, the Minister also took stock of ongoing works regarding the establishment of 10 MVA Receiving Station at Manzgam, aimed to strengthen the power infrastructure in the area.
She directed the officers to work with dedication so that the project can be completed before the actual date of completion.
The Minister added that after the completion of project, a long-pending demand of the people of the area will be fulfilled as it is expected to significantly augment the power supply scenario, ensuring improved electricity availability and reliability for the residents.