Union Minister of State (Independent Charge), Power and New & Renewable Energy and Minister of State Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, Raj Kumar Singh dedicated various projects implemented under corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives of the hydropower generation company NHPC Ltd and power sector financial institution Power Finance Corp. Ltd (PFC) in Shahpur and Bihiya blocks in Bihar’s Bhojpur district through video conferencing on Wednesday.
A total of 33 projects in Shahpur block and 39 projects in Bihayi block were dedicated during the programme. These projects in both the blocks include works such as construction of plain cement concrete (PCC) road at 55 locations, community building and platforms at three locations, solar, LED, high mast lights at seven locations, construction of open gyms at two locations, construction of drainage system at two locations, Chhath Ghat at one location and library and community building at two locations. The total cost of all these projects is about Rs 90 million.
Speaking on the occasion, Singh said that NHPC was the largest hydro power company and PFC the largest financial institution for the sector in the country. He referred to the rural road electrification works executed in certain districts of Bihar by NHPC under its CSR initiatives. He further added that PFC was playing an important role in the development of the country by providing billions in rupees in loans to various power companies.
Singh also said that both these companies operated throughout the country and were capable of competing with any foreign company due to their capability, quality of work and timeliness. While, speaking about the achievements in the power sector in the country, he said that in the last few years, the installed capacity of the country had increased by 125,000 MW to fulfil the dream of one nation-one grid-one frequency connecting remote areas like Leh-Ladakh to the grid. Today, with electricity having reached every village and every house in the country, India has earned global praise for electrification on such a large scale within a very short period of time.
AK Singh, CMD, NHPC, Ratish Kumar, Director Projects, NHPC, RK Murahari, Executive Director, PFC and other officials also attended the programme.
In his address, AK Singh said that these public utility projects were a result of the visionary thinking of the power minister. Singh especially thanked the local public and administration in particular and said that it would have been impossible to complete the work without their support. He further assured that NHPC would continue to do such socially beneficial works in the future.