The Orissa Cabinet has given its nod to the Rs 2400-crore System Upgrade Plan for four power distribution companies in the state.
Of the total amount of Rs 2400 crore to be spent on strengthening the power distribution system in the state over a period of four years, Rs 1200 crore would be provided by the state government while the remaining amount will be met by the four distribution companies (discoms) from their internal resources.
"The state government will provide a financial assistance of Rs 1200 crore to the four discoms out of which Rs 500 crore would come as grants from the Finance Commission. Under the System Upgrade Plan, every year, the discoms are required to bring down their Aggregate Technical and Commercial Loss (AT&C) loss by three per cent”, the state Chief Secretary B K Pattnaik told reporters after the Cabinet Meeting.
Presently, the AT&C loss in Orissa is 39 per cent.
A monitoring device will be put in place to oversee the performance of the four power distribution utilities- Central Electricity Supply Utility (Cesu), North Eastern Electricity Supply Company of Orissa Limited (Nesco), Southern Orissa Electricity Supply Company of Orissa Ltd (Southco) and Western Electricity Supply Company of Orissa Ltd (Wesco).
Cesu will get the highest share of the financial assistance at 39 per cent, followed by Nesco at 21 per cent, Southco at 20.5 per cent and Wesco at 19.5 per cent.The Cabinet also approved the Procurement Policy for 2010-11. It has been decided to procure 3.2 million tonnes of rice this year and the procurement target is the same as the previous fiscal.
Out of the procurement target of 3.2 million tonnes, 2.9 lakh tonnes will be procured by the government procurement agencies and the rest by the millers. The Orissa State Civil Supplies Corporation will play a key role in the procurement process.
More From This Section
Meanwhile, the state government has scaled down the procurement target of Food Corporation of India (FCI) from 0.8 million tonnes in the last fiscal to 0.4 million tonnes in 2010-11.
“FCI's procurement target has been scaled down in this fiscal as their performance was unsatisfactory in 2009-10. Out of the target of 0.8 million tonnes set for 2009-10, FCI could procure only 0.18 million tonnes”, said Ashok K Meena, secretary (food supplies and consumer welfare).
The Cabinet also waived off Forest Development Tax on imported timber by the Orissa Forest Development Corporation (OFDC).
Previously, this tax was levied on OFDC and not on private players and the tax has been done away with to ensure a level playing field for the corporation as well as the private players.
For recruitment of Assistant Public Prosecutors (APPs), it has been decided that lawyers with at least two years of post qualification experience can be considered for the post.
Previously, a lawyer with minimum with a minimum of seven years of experience was eligible for the post.
It was also decided at the Cabinet meeting that departmental heads can now approve pension for the employees. Previously, only secretaries could approve pension of the employees.