Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday inaugurated a bevy of infrastructure projects in Kerala, including the 2,000-MW Pugalur-Thrissur high voltage direct current (HVDC) power transmission corridor.
He said the power transmission corridor would ensure the transfer of a large quantum of power from the national grid to the State and guarantee reliable access to electricity.
Stating that “development is our aim, development is our religion,” the Prime Minister also inaugurated, via videoconference, a 50-MW solar park in Kasaragod and a 75-mld (million litres a day) water treatment plant (WTP) at Aruvikkara, Thiruvananthapuram, and launched the work on two Smart City Mission initiatives in the capital — the ₹427-crore 37-km Smart Road project and the Integrated Command and Control Centre at the City Corporation.
“The great Malayalam poet Kumaran Asan said, ‘I’m not asking your caste, sister, I ask for water. I’m thirsty’. Development and good governance do not know caste, creed, race, gender, religion or language. Development is for everyone,” Mr. Modi said.
National grid link
The Pugalur-Thrissur line is Kerala’s first HVDC inter-connection with the national grid and the country’s first system to use the voltage source converter technology, he said. “The internal power-generating sources in Kerala are seasonal. This makes the State largely dependent on power imports from the national grid. This gap had to be bridged. The HVDC system helps us achieve this,” he said.
Inaugurating the 50 MW solar project at Paivalike, Kasaragod, he said the country’s gains in solar energy ensured a stronger fight against climate change. The 75 mld WTP at Aruvikkara, constructed under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT), would enhance the per capita, per-day supply of water in Thiruvananthapuram city from 100 litres to 150 litres.
Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram had made significant progress under the Smart Cities Mission. Under the mission, 27 projects worth ₹770 crore had been completed in the two cities, while 68 projects worth ₹2,000 crore were in the pipeline. The ICCCs under the mission had helped cities in better urban planning and management, he said. As many as 175 water supply projects worth ₹1,100 crore were being taken up in Kerala under AMRUT, he said.
Mr. Modi said the government was giving utmost importance to the blue economy. Development strategies targeting the fishermen community were based on “more credit, increased technology, top-quality infrastructure, and supportive government policies”. Government policies would ensure that India became a hub of seafood exports, he added.
Presiding over the function, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that in a federal structure, it was imperative that governments at various levels work together for the benefit of the people. Mr. Vijayan assured the Centre of the State’s continued cooperation in projects that were being implemented jointly by the State and the Centre.
The projects inaugurated on Friday were expected to usher in development in a number of sectors, including power and water supply, transport, governance and decentralisation, the Chief Minister said.
He said the State government was happy that work on the power transmission corridor, started in 2017, could be completed on time. Under the Smart Cities Mission initiatives, the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation, the State, and the Centre were implementing projects worth ₹1,135 crore in the corporation. Under the ₹427-crore, Smart Roads project, 37 km of city roads would be developed with amenities, including footpath, cycle tracks, and utility corridors.
The State had made a big leap in the power sector over the past five years, he said. A 50 MW solar park was constructed at Ambalathara, Kasaragod, in 2018. Now, another 50 MW had been added with the Paivalike park, he said. Union Minister for Housing and Urban Affairs Hardeep Singh Puri and Minister of State (Independent Charge) R.K. Singh also addressed the event online. Governor Arif Mohammed Khan, Ministers, MLAs, and Mayor Arya Rajendran attended the function.
