Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Saturday said contrary to the previous state governments that sold government properties to fetch money, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government will soon complete the process to buy a private thermal plant in the state to augment its coal based power production.
“Sharing good news with Punjabis…Punjab government is buying a private thermal plant in Punjab…details soon,” Mann said in a tweet in Punjabi.
The CM said the state government has placed its bid for purchasing a private power plant and very soon this process will be completed. He said this will help in making the state power surplus by augmenting its power production.
Mann said at present state owned thermal plants at Lehra Mohabbat and Ropar produce 1760 Mega Watt (MW) of power whereas with the purchasing of this private power plant production capacity of another 540 MW will be added to it.
The CM said with the resumption of coal supply from Pachwara coal mine, the state has surplus coal which can be used to run these thermal plants effectively. He said for the first time in the history of the state, the Punjab government has put a bid for purchasing a private thermal power plant whereas in the past the earlier governments had sold these properties.
Mann said this is unprecedented as for the maiden time the state government has started this reverse trend to buy a private plant. He said the state has enough supply and stock of coal through which these plants can be run efficiently.
Mann said the state government is supplying uninterrupted and regular power to all the sectors even during the peak paddy season. He said that the state government has already made elaborate arrangements in this regard and there is no shortage of power in the state.