Smart metering project unveiled
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, January 7
Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today launched a slew of welfare projects, including distribution of free sanitary pads for high school and college girl students in the state.
Even as he kick-started the process of the realisation of the dream of owning a home for thousands of slum dwellers, the Chief Minister further powered the state’s digital leap with the rollout of Rs 75.64 crore smart metering project and ‘e-Daakhil’ portal for e-filing of consumer complaints. Youth and girls have been earmarked as beneficiaries of the two other schemes launched virtually by the Chief Minister, dedicating the month of January to the girl child as ‘Dheeyan Di Lohri’ and also paved the way for distribution of 2,500 sports kits to promote health awareness and sports culture among youngsters.
With the launch of the Basera programme, 2,816 slum dwellers in 10 slums of Patiala, Bathinda, Fazilka and Moga districts will get proprietary rights in the first phase. Those living in three slums of Moga will be granted their rights by shifting them to a separate land under the Moga Municipal Corporation. Further, launching the Rs 75.64 crore three-phased smart metering project, the Chief Minister said the consumer-friendly scheme would help reduce human error in manual reading through automatic uploading of data. From January to December, a total of 96,000 meters would be installed across the state by the PSPCL under the project, which would also help curb the malpractice of reading concealment/theft of electricity and improve the reading/billing efficiency and quality, he said. PSPCL CMD A Venu Prasad said, “The consumers will have the option to change a meter to prepaid or postpaid. Rebate in tariff is admissible to the consumer under prepaid option and the same meter can be used as a bidirectional meter for solar net metering.”
Regarding e-Daakhil portal, the Chief Minister said it would help consumers safeguard their rights. It would provide them with an effective mechanism to protect them from exploitation at the hands of traders. Launching the scheme for distribution of 2,500 sports kits through community participation, the Chief Minister said it would help promote health awareness and sports culture.
