Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Aug 8: In a significant decision aimed at reducing AT&C losses in the power sector and improving metering, State Administrative Council (SAC), which met here today under the chairmanship of Governor N N Vohra accorded sanction to the engagement of the Rural Electricity Corporation Power Distribution Company Limited (RECPDCL) as PIA on nomination basis.
The PIA will help in procurement and installation of 9.25 lakh electronic meters in the rural and urban areas of the State, sanctioned under PMDP, DDUGJY and IPDS, at an estimated cost of Rs 282.15 crore; O&M Services for the upkeep and maintenance of consumer metering in rural and urban areas at an estimated cost of Rs 44.53 crore; managing meter reading and bill generation at an estimated cost of Rs 61.32 crore and procurement and installation of 2 lakh smart meters in towns / urban areas of the State at an estimated cost of Rs 126.54 crore.
The SAC also accorded approval to the engagement of Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL) for execution of Smart Grid Project in J&K at an estimated cost of Rs.140.55 crore. The Smart Grid Project will have attributes like Substation Automation System (SAS), Smart Collection Mechanism (SCM), Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Outage Management System (OMS), Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) System and Peak Load Management (PLM).
PGCIL is being entrusted the job of execution of Smart Grid project for 19 towns/industrial areas in the State.
The State is presently faced with the challenge of reducing high level of AT&C losses, which have been at 60% during the financial year 2016-17. This high percentage of AT&C losses is one of the reasons for continuance of gap between demand and supply.
The reduction of AT&C losses is not only essential for revenue realization but is equally important for providing reliable and quality power to all categories of consumers. The vision of Government is to accomplish 24X7 Power for all by 2019 in a time bound manner which cannot be accomplished unless 100% consumer metering is achieved.
The SAC also approved the Jammu and Kashmir Municipal Corporations (Amendment) Bill, 2018 facilitating conduct of forthcoming elections to the Municipal Corporations in the State through EVMs. A provision made in this regard in 2016 had lapsed.
Presently, elections to Municipal Corporations are conducted using ballot papers under the provisions of J&K Municipal Corporation Act, 2000. In order to conduct these elections through EVMs, certain amendments were required to be made in the Act, so as to provide for making rules for use of EVMs in these elections.
With the passing of this amendment, the forthcoming Urban Local Body elections will be conducted using EVMs.
The SAC also approved the transfer of State land measuring 94 Kanals and 10 Marlas situated in village Palam, Tehsil and District Rajouri, to the Tribal Affairs Department, for establishing an Eklavya Model Residential School.
Eklavya Model Residential School is being constructed under a Government of India scheme for providing quality education to the children of the area.
The establishment of this educational institution is expected to enhance the opportunities for education of children of far flung areas with a vision to realize the human resource potential of the area to its fullest with a focus on equity and excellence.
Meanwhile, the SAC accorded approval to the proposals for use of 18.53 Ha forest land in various parts of the State for developmental activities in the drinking water, road, transmission and hydro power sectors.
The proposals were recommended by the Forest Advisory Committee (FAC), headed by the Chief Secretary in its 109thmeeting held on 19.07.2018.
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