The Kerala State Electricity Board will clear the pendency of applications for power connections by August 15 on clearing litigations and the hurdles raised by the Forest Department, Power Minister Aryadan Mohammed has said.
Replying to the discussion on the demand for grants for Power in the Assembly on Monday, Mr. Aryadan said 15,517 applications for power connections were pending when the government assumed office. As per the data available on July 1, the pendency came down to 1,381.
About 1,000 applications were from hilly terrains such as Idukki and 381 from Wayanad. The delay in securing clearance from the Forest Department was the main hurdle in clearing the applications. Still, the government would try to clear all applications by August 15, he said.
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The government had taken steps to complete phase conversion, from single to three phase, under the voltage improvement scheme. The Centre had agreed to provide Rs.26,500 crore for laying a line to bring power from Chhattisgarh.