Chief Minister, Ms Mehbooba Mufti Sundayformally launched the Ujala Scheme in Jammu and Kashmir with the distribution of LED bulbs among consumers at a function organized at the Convention Centre here.
Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Nirmal Singh, Speaker Legislative Assembly, Mr Kavinder Gupta, Minister for Animal and Sheep Husbandry, Abdul Ghani Kohli and several Legislators were present on the occasion.
The National LED programme was launched by the Prime Minister in January 2015 with a target of replacing 77 crore incandescent lamps with LED bulbs. UJALA is successfully running across various states in the country.
UJALA, an acronym for Unnat Jyoti by Affordable LEDs for All, is a scheme for registered domestic electricity consumers to be implemented by Jammu and Kashmir Power Development Department in collaboration with Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL). This scheme is introduced to benefit the consumers and save their day to day energy bill. Under this scheme consumer can buy 5 LED bulbs at the rate of Rs 20 each on production of photostat copy of photo identity card and latest electricity bill. In case of purchase of more than five bulbs, consumers need to pay Rs 95 per bulb.
The LED bulbs will be distributed through special counters setup at designated places. There will be phase-wise distribution and the location of counters would be communicated through awareness campaigns to inform the consumers.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said that the UJALA scheme has already become a national revolution and today it is at our doorsteps. She further said that the government acknowledges the great savings that the scheme shall bring to the electricity bills of the consumers and has made sincere efforts to ensure that the people of J&K have access to this national scheme. “It will cut down your electricity bills and shall bring in more brightness into your life”, she added.
Describing electricity pivotal to sustenance, the Chief Minister said that it is an essential commodity and everyone has equal right to energy. She added that access to electricity, being a major factor for the economic development, will be a stepping stone in our journey towards economic growth.
“When we speak of electricity and the need to ensure that it reaches everyone, we only think of its generation and that how many plants did we install, how many dams did we built or how many power stations are there in a city or town, however it is time we look at the alternative, that is of saving electricity”, the Chief Minister said.
The Chief Minister highlighted the importance of energy conservation through the spread of LED bulbs. She noted that it is much more economical to conserve power, than to produce power. “With each watt saved, we generate one watt of electricity”, she added.
The Chief Minister said that the world is taking big strides in innovative lighting technology and it has now come to our doorstep in the form LED bulb. As one LED bulb consumes one tenth of the energy consumed by a normal yellow bulb, we shall be saving enormous amount of energy if we are able to replace the 80 lakh inefficient bulbs in our state with LED bulbs, she added.
Ms Mehbooba said the Government is working on a comprehensive roadmap to augment the generation, transmission and distribution systems so that quality power supply is ensured to the consumers. However, energy efficiency plays a pivotal role in this roadmap, she said and added it is with this augmented power sector, that we can revitalize J&K’s economy because of its cascading effect on all sectors.
The Chief Minister urged the consumers to come forward and purchase these inexpensive LED bulbs so that their monthly electricity bills are reduced and they contribute positively towards energy conservation. She said hospitals and educational institutions should be given priority while distribution of LED bulbs.
Speaking on the occasion Deputy Chief Minister said launch of Uajala scheme is a historic step towards power saving and augmentation. He said that J&K is the only state offering these LEDs at Rs 20 each which is lowest in the country.
The Deputy Chief Minister said that various measures have been taken to increase the power generation and bring down T&D losses. He said these measures are already showing results.
Speaker Legislative Assembly, Mr Kavinder Gupta also addressed the gathering.
Principal Secretary to Chief Minister, Mr Navin Kumar Choudhary, Divisional Commissioner Jammu, Dr Pawan Kotwal, Commissioner Secretary PDD, Mr Dheeraj Gupta, IGP Jammu, Mr Danesh Rana, Development Commissioner Power, Sheikh Ayaz Gul, Chief Engineers and other officers of PDD and divisional administration were present on the occasion.
