PM Modi took on the "old, tired" Congress, saying its "chalta hai'' attitude had crippled power sector
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday laid foundation stones for two thermal power plants, one in Uttar Pradesh and the other in Bihar, while slamming previous governments for "ignoring" the power sector.
The prime minister, who was in western UP inaugurated Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya Archaeology Institute in Greater Noida and flagged off a new section of the Delhi Metro, connecting Noida City Centre and Noida Electronic City.
The two thermal power plants, in UP's Khurja and at Bihar's Buxar, will have a power generating capacity of 1,320 MW each, PM Modi said, noting that modern power infrastructure was essential for industries and business.
"The plant in Khurja will cost around s 12,000 crore while the one in Buxar approximately Rs 10,000 crore. When both these plants are complete, both UP and Bihar will benefit. The plant in Khurja will also help Delhi, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh and Rajasthan with power supply. The plant in Buxar will help the eastern region," he said.
PM Modi also took on the "old, tired" Congress, saying its "chalta hai'' attitude had crippled the power sector, while his government was working across sectors keeping in mind the need of power supply in 21st century.
"Previous governments had not accorded priority to power sector. Yesterday, in Kanpur, I witnessed how the power sector and energy requirement was ignored when work started on expansion of Panki power plant on Friday."
"You would be amazed to know that 40-50 year old machines were being used there. The machines were gasping, their condition was similar to the Congress. The result was that that the power being produced there was costing Rs 10 per unit," he said.
"Today when we talk about producing power through solar energy at Rs 2 per unit, think who was benefitting by producing electricity at Rs 10 per unit. But chal raha tha... This attitude of previous governments had crippled country's power sector," he said.
Talking about improving air connectivity in the region, he said the Jewar airport will usher golden opportunities for western UP, with regional connectivity beginning in Bareilly also in next few weeks.
"120 routes have been started under Ude Desh ka Aam Nagrik (UDAN) scheme. Because of this scheme several tier-2 and tier-3 cities have for the first time got air connectivity, which is also giving a boost to their economy," he said.