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Andhra Pradesh
By Our Special Correspondent
VISAKHAPATNAM, FEB. 22. All villages in the State will get power supply for 24 hours from August, the Chief Minister, N. Chandrababu Naidu, announced on Friday. Speaking at a meeting organised at the Simhadri Thermal Power Project site in Parawada, 40 km from here, he claimed that after the return of the Telugu Desam Government in 1994, there had been a substantial increase in the power supply both in terms of quality and quantity and said that in the next few months an additional 1220 MW would be available in the State. Mr. Naidu said that the entry of private investment in the power sector had helped in reduction of costs. He complimented the authorities of the National Thermal Power Corporation and Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited for ensuring the commissioning of the 500 MW Unit-I of STPP in a record time. Breaking into English, the Chief Minister requested the Union Minister for Power, Suresh R. Prabhu, who earlier commissioned the Unit-I, to ensure maximum employment to the locals, "who are good, docile.'' Mr. Naidu expressed himself strongly against industrial strife that would only make investor shy away. He wanted MLAs and MPs to sort out industrial disputes by arranging meetings between workers and managements. Stating that after STPP, Parawada "has become Power-wada,'' he said that the north Andhra region would progress fast on the industrial front with upcoming projects like Gangavaram port and special economic zone in Visakhapatnam. He announced that an apparel park would be set up in the region soon to provide employment to women in garment making. The Union Minister of State for Power, Jaywantiben Mehta, described the ambience at the meeting as one akin to the Sankranti festival, patted the NTPC and BHEL people for executing a splendid job. Ms. Mehta was all praise for AP's lead in power sector reforms. The AP Minister for Energy, K. Subbarayudu, said that the State was enriched by 15 million units of power "on this single day,'' thanks to the commissioning of Simhadri and the BSES plant in East Godavari district. "This day should be recorded in letters of gold in the annals of the State.'' The Japanese Minster for Economic Development, K. Kodama, who was present at the function, disclosed that the Japanese Bank of International Cooperation would release the tranche of credit to the STPP amounting to Rs. 998 crores soon. Mr. Kodama said that Indo-Japanese diplomatic relations were now 50 years old and added that the ties were growing stronger. He indicated that Japan would cooperate with the State Government in the NTPC-Ramagundam plant expansion. The Chairman and Managing Director of BHEL, K.G. Ramachandran, said that his organisation's tie-up with NTPC was based on the proven capability of both in executing projects. The Union Special Secretary for Power, S. Prabhakaran, remarked that it was a great moment of pride for the Union Power Ministry. Welcoming the gathering, the NTPC Chairman and Managing Director, C.P. Jain, declared with pride that on this day, NTPC's generation capacity had crossed 20,000 MW. The STPP General Manager, R.C. Srivastav, proposed a vote of thanks.
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