Taskforce to take stock of situation

RANCHI: As protests against the prevailing power crisis in the state are gathering steam, the government has begun to think about addressing the problem soon.
On Thursday, energy minister Rajendra Prasad Singh ordered the formation of a taskforce to tackle with the crisis and designated three officials of the electricity utility companies to take stock of the situation in all 15 area boards of the electricity department.
This was the first meeting of the energy minister with the newly-appointed managing directors and directors of all four utility companies that have been formed after the unbundling of the Jharkhand State Electricity Board (JSEB).
Managing director, Jharkhand Bidyut Vitaran Nigam Limited (JBVNL) K K Verma has been given charge of Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Gumla, Hazaribag, Koderma and Ramgarh electricity supply circles while MD Jharkhand Urja Sancharan Nigam Limited (JUSNL) Subhash Singh has been given the responsibility of Dumka, Sahebganj, Dhanbad and Giridih supply circles. Director Atul Kumar has been asked to handle issues related to Chatra and Medninagar. Pandey Ramnikant Sinha, director project and public relation, said officials have been directed to monitor issues related to repair, procurement, infrastructure building, grievance redressal and other related problems.
The meeting was attended by energy secretary B K Tripathy, CMD Jharkhand Urja Vikas Nigam Limited (JUVNL) S N Verma, both the MDs and all five directors. The minister gave clear-cut indication that the government was looking for results and corrective measures must be taken on a war footing.
"It was because of model code of conduct during the Lok Sabha elections that the appointments at the top level in the newly constituted power utility companies was delayed which resulted in delay in execution of some of the important issues including payment to Damodar Valley Corporation," Singh said clarifying that every pending work would now be gradually streamlined.