West Bengal to pump Rs 4,200 crore for dedicated agri-power supply

KOLKATA: In a bid to improve power transmission for the irrigation sector, West Bengal government will pump in Rs 4,200 crore over the next two years for a dedicated feeder line.

"The cabinet has approved a separate dedicated power line for irrigation, which will be rolled out at a cost of Rs 4,200 crore and the same will be initiated in a month's time and completed over the next two years," state Power minister Manish Gupta said at the state secretariat after the meeting.

It was part of Sech Bandhu project, which entails to install 46,000 new pump sets with electric connectivity.

The project would not only help improve farm productivity with better power supply, but would help eradicate low voltage issues in rural Bengal, Gupta said.

Co-funded by the Centre with 60 per cent of cost, the project would entail providing dedicated separate feeder lines for irrigation purposes for farmers, he said.

Infrastructure development for the project would include installation of 80 new 33/11KV sub-stations, 1.14 lakh distribution transformers and upgradation of some 50,000 existing transformers, the minister said adding, 90 per cent of rural Bengal had been electrified and rest would be completed by March 2016.

The state government reiterated that it would not go for forcible land acquisition required for the power infrastructure, Gupta added.