New Delhi (PTI) Orissa and West Bengal are among six states which have generated profits after their state electricity boards (SEBs) were restructured, the Lok Sabha was informed on Friday.

Giving details during Question Hour, Power Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde said while Orissa registered a profit of Rs 755 crores, West Bengal recorded Rs 372 crore profit.

The other states which achieved profits were Gujarat with Rs 102 crores, Andhra Pradesh with Rs 341 crores, Karnataka Rs 301 crores and Maharashtra Rs 675 crores, he said.

Only these six states, out of 14, had made profits after their SEBs were restructured, Mr. Shinde said.

His answer came when Trinamool Congress MP Sudip Bandopadhyay asked whether West Bengal State Electricity Board had registered a loss of Rs 1,000 crores, with CPI(M) leader Basudeb Acharia wanting the Minister to "tell the truth".

As the Minister replied that West Bengal had made a Rs 372 crore profit, Mr. Acharia said this was achieved "without privatising" the distribution and transmission services.

Mr. Shinde said West Bengal was "now on the right track".

Chhattisgarh has also made profits by selling power to other states, the Minister said.

Asking state governments to plan and construct power projects as the issue was in the concurrent list, Mr. Shinde said the present nationwide shortage of power was 25,000 MW while construction of power projects to produce 80,000 MW was currently in progress.

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