Chandigarh, April 1 : Haryana’s Energy, Transport and Labour Minister Anil Vij said that a meeting of all Superintending Engineers of the state will be held soon for the recovery of electricity bills. During this meeting, information will be gathered from all the Superintending Engineers regarding the outstanding electricity bills, and necessary directions will be issued. Additionally, he mentioned that electricity rates are decided by the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Sh. Vij was responding to a question asked by media personnel about the recovery of around ₹8,000 crore in overdue electricity bills to cover the deficit.
He said that the recovery of overdue electricity bills will be thoroughly reviewed, and appropriate action will be taken. He also mentioned that errors in electricity bills raised in the Legislative Assembly will be corrected, if give by the any member, although electricity bills are generally accurate. Moreover, he stated that discoms is provided information about their expenses and accounts to the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission.
Plans for additional power plants in Panipat and Hisar – Vij
In response to a question about the increased electricity demand during summer, he said that as a permanent solution, the state is expanding its thermal power capacity. An 800 MW thermal power plant is being established in Yamunanagar. Additionally, there are plans to set up two more power plants in Panipat and another plant in Khedar, Hisar.
Instructions to ensure sufficient transformers at every substation – Vij
He further mentioned that when additional electricity is needed, the state receives it from the national grid, ensuring no power outages. While short-term electricity may be expensive, long-term agreements make it affordable. He also noted that issues with power lines often arise during the summer, and officers have been instructed to ensure there are enough transformers at every substation. Additionally, each substation should have a vehicle to quickly replace any malfunctioning transformers.
Instructions given to officials to work on increasing transformer capacity – Vij
He also mentioned that he had instructed officials to work on increasing transformer capacities, and significant improvements had already been made. Sh. Vij explained that electricity corporations currently have around 10,000 transformers, and he has directed officials to maintain online data for all transformers to track their locations and ensure they are used appropriately when needed.
Law violators will not be allowed to drive – Transport Minister Anil Vij
In response to a question about illegal vehicle operations, he said that this is a major issue and he himself had conducted inspections, collecting around ₹1.75 lakh in fines and impounding vehicles. He mentioned that the Regional Transport Authorities (RTA) are working on this, though they face challenges due to insufficient staff. He emphasized that law violators will not be allowed to drive and urged the government to assign RTA officers in every district to ensure proper vehicle inspections.
The central government is working on simplifying toll plazas – Vij
When asked about the increase in toll rates, Sh. Vij said that the central government is working on simplifying toll plazas, and in the future, vehicles may have chips installed to ease the process of entering and exiting toll booths.
“Politics is our domain, let us handle it, don’t bring politics into sports” – Vij
In response to a question regarding honorarium for players, Sh. Vij reiterated that “I have always said that politics is our domain, let us handle it, don’t bring politics into sports.”
Opposition dominated by negativity – Vij
Criticizing the opposition, Sh. Vij said that the opposition has a tendency to oppose even the best proposals. He said that the opposition is dominated by negativity. Regarding the Wakf Board, he mentioned that there are some shortcomings, but efforts are being made to address them properly. He added that the Joint Parliamentary Committee (JPC) had studied the amendments, and now it will be presented in Parliament, where everyone will have a chance to speak. The amendments are being done systematically and not in an emergency manner, unlike what happened during Indira Gandhi’s time. He mentioned that in a democracy, everything is being done according to the correct procedure.
Drug addiction is a social disease, and the campaign against it is a good step – Vij
Regarding the campaign against drugs initiated by the Governor of Punjab, Sh. Vij said that it is a very good step. He acknowledged that drug addiction is a social illness and while it can be temporarily controlled with force, it can only be eradicated when sociologists work to change people’s minds. He emphasized that the Haryana government is fully committed to combating drugs.