The Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant at Khedar in Hisar is progressing well, said Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda, while inaugurating a 33 KV sub-station in Sector 10 in Rewari.

Nagesh Prabhu BANGALORE: With monsoon becoming weak and drought looming large over Karnataka, the government has extended the weather-based crop insurance scheme to five more districts, covering 12 crops this kharif season.

With about 20 biomass-based power projects generating 183 MW at Sirsa, Panipat, Karnal, Hisar, Fatehabad, Bhiwani, Nilokheri, Jagadhari, Khanesar and Dabwali, the people of Haryana can be assured of lesser power cuts. As the projects are being set up at the sites of the load centres, the power supply is expected to increase in these blocks, with transmission losses going down in a big way. Confirming this, officials of Haryana Renewable Energy Development Agency (HAREDA) said since the state is purchasing massive power from other states, it has to bear huge transmission losses.

With the aim of augmenting availability of electricity in Haryana, the state government is undertaking short, medium and long term measures to be self-reliant in power within the next few years. These include commissioning of its three major thermal power projects at Yamuna Nagar, Jhajjar and Hisar which will generate about 3,300 mw of electricity; contracting power from various projects outside the state for 4,000 mw and generating power through bidding process under case I of tariff policy to the tune of 2,000 mw.

Chandigarh In the agrarian states of Punjab and Haryana, power cuts have been the order of the day for years. This, in turn, has affected economic development in these states. While the two states have decided to spend almost one-third of their five-year Plan for 2007-12 on power projects, they have also realised that the immediate need was to save energy. With that in mind, Punjab has tied up with a US major, Econoler International, to light the streets of municipal areas of the state.

The Haryana Cabinet today increased the fee for grant of mining lease from Rs 5,000 to Rs 20,000, whereas fee for application for transfer of mining lease has also been increased from Rs 100 to Rs 20,000. The Cabinet also took significant decisions to exempt renewable energy power projects from any CLU charges and increased educational qualification of gram sachivs from matric to Plus Two. It also approved revised criteria for allotting 100 square yard plots to SCs and BPL families. Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda presided over the meeting.

There will be some relief from power cuts this summer, as 15 per cent more power will be available in the state as compared to last year. Stating this, Financial Commissioner and Principal Secretary (Power) Ashok Lavasa said the extra power would be arranged by way of bilateral arrangements made with other states, including Himachal Pradesh, J&K and Madhya Pradesh.

HARYANA Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda reviewed the progress of the construction work of the 2x600 MW Rajiv Gandhi Thermal Power Plant being set up at Khedar in Hisar. A spokesman of the power department said that the ongoing civil and mechanical works of the mega project were on in full swing. As much as 98 per cent of the piling works had been completed and the work of boiler erection had commenced on December 4 last year. The base raft foundations of the Cooling Towers and Chimney had also been cast. The two units would start generating power by November 2009 and February 2010. On completion of the project, as many as 288 lakh units of electricity per day would be available for the people of Haryana. The spokesman said that the progress of 2x300 MW Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram Thermal Power Project, Yamuna Nagar was also reviewed. It was informed that after synchronization in November 2007, Unit-1 had generated 728 lakh units which had been pumped into the grid. This unit would start com- h; mercial operation in March,2008. The Unit will be synchronized on oil in March, 5l 2008, he informed. Haryana Power Minister Randeep Singh Surjewala was also present on the occasion.