State power sector is on path of resurgence: CM

GUWAHATI, June 1: Saying that the government is taking various measures to revive the State’s power sector and electrify all villages, Chief Minister Sarbanda Sonowal on Thursday said that all the employees of state power companies must perform their duties with honesty and dedication for winning the trust of the people, an official statement from CMO said.

Taking part as the chief guest in the foundation day celebrations of erstwhile Assam State Electricity Board (ASEB), which was later trifurcated into three companies APDCL, APGCL and AEGCL, at Srimanta Sankardev Kalakshetra in the city, Chief Minister Sonowal said that all want light in their lives and power is the driving force for developing human society.

Stressing upon the importance of electricity in everyday lives of the people, Sonowal said that negative image in popular perception of the state power department must be changed with dedicated service delivery by the officials.

Urging the employees of APDCL, APGCL and AEGCL to make their companies the catalyst for holistic development of Assam by powering agriculture and industry, providing light to rural and urban households and improvising interl resources for continually upgrading technology & delivery systems to bring happiness to the people’s lives, Sonowal called upon the companies to become people friendly and prompt in service delivery.

Saying that the people of the state must be made equal stakeholders in developing the power sector, Sonowal called upon the public to pay their electricity bills on time so that the power companies can perform their duties effectively and he also urged the power companies to hold meetings with the consumers in their localities for resolving issues of payment defaults.  He also said that awareness campaigns should be run to sensitise the public on their role in preservation of power.       

Saying that in order to bring about industrial and agricultural revolutions stable power supply is of paramount importance, Sonowal stated that the power companies must build credibility and reputation for top notch service and he asked for healthy competition among the various departments of the government in performing to their optimum.

The Chief Minister also presented awards to the best performing establishments and best performing officers and employees of APDCL, APGCL and AEGCL today and said these awards would motivate the officials to perform better. He also warned that government would also take action against erring officials for negligence in duty as no compromise would be accepted in developing the power sector of the state.  

State Power minister Pallab Lochan Das, Legal adviser to the Chief Minister Shantanu Bharali, Chairman APDCL Ravi Capoor, MD APDCL Puru Gupta among others were also present at the meeting.