Plan panel backs CM’s idea to island Delhi power

Ahluwalia supported the Chief Minister’s proposal during a meeting,convened to finalise Delhi’s annual plan for 2012-2013,a statement from Dikshit’s office said. He was quoted as having said that the city needs to set up a separate power grid on the lines of Mumbai.

Even before the Northern Grid collapsed on July 30 and 31,Dikshit’s government had called for better power discipline among other states that draw electricity from this grid. It has also accused several states of drawing more power than the allocated quota,which led to the blackout.

Dikshit reiterated these points at a meeting convened by the Power Ministry on Tuesday.

She also asked the Planning Commission to ensure uninterrupted supply of gas allocated for new power plants in the city. She proposed to increase Delhi’s power generation capacity from 2232 MW to 4,730 MW by the end of the 12th Five Year Plan in 2017.

The Commission has set Delhi’s annual plan for 2012-2013 at Rs 15,862 crore. The city will get to spend Rs 90,000 crore during the 12th Plan.

Dikshit said 65 per cent of the funds have been allocated to the social sector,up two per cent from last year. “The new schemes launched this year include the Annshri Yojana,Kerosene free Delhi and Delhi Swarojgar Yojana,” she said.