Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC) has agreed to resume its supply of 600 MW power to Jharkhand every day from Saturday, ending the electricity crisis in parts of the state, Education Minister Jagarnath Mahto said on Friday. The announcement was made by Mahato following his meeting with DVC Chairman R N Singh, who was summoned by the state government over power disruptions in seven districts.
Finance Minister Rameshwar Oraon accompanied Mahato to the meeting.
Irked over frequent power cuts in the districts of Jharkhand’s North Chotanagpur Division, Mahto on Tuesday had threatened discontinuation of coal and water supply to DVC if the situation did not improve.
"In the presence of the Finance Minister ... the issue of power cut was discussed with the DVC's chairman and its board officials. DVC has assured that uninterrupted 600 MW power supply will be resumed from midnight (Saturday)," Mahto said after the meeting.
The minister also said that another meeting has been convened on Monday to resolve certain issues concerning DVC.
Taking a dig at the power major, the minister said that Coal India owes Rs 60,000 crore to the state government, but "does that mean we should stop its mining operations".
DVC, in a letter to Jharkhand Bijli Vitran Nigam Ltd (JBVNL), said that it has decided to stop regulating power supply to Jharkhand.
The organisation also said that it would place its request for monthly payment in full and a road map for liquidation of outstanding dues before the state government on February 1.
Mahto stated that the government will try to settle the disputes with DVC, which has quoted Rs 2,100 crore as outstanding dues.
He had earlier said that people of Jharkhand would "not tolerate DVC’s arm-twisting tactics and coal and water supply to the organisation's plants would be stopped if normal power supply isn’t restored".
BJP's Dhanbad Sadar MLA Raj Sinha had also taken exception to the alleged arbitrary power disruptions and began a 72 hours sit-in on Thursday in protest.
Chief Minister Hemant Soren had recently alleged that the Centre was meting out a "step-motherly treatment" to Jharkhand, with Coal India not paying the state the "huge money" it owed while funds get auto-debited from the RBI account for Damodar Valley Corporation.
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