KARACHI: Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah has called for executing electrification and gasification schemes in specified villages and expediting work on those already being executed.

He was presiding over a meeting on village electrification and gasification at CM House here on Thursday.

The CM directed the energy minister and officials to maintain close coordination with power distribution companies and the Sui Southern Gas Company Ltd.

“We have provided necessary funds and details of the villages [to the department and officials concerned], therefore, the works should be started and where the works are in progress, they should be expedited in the larger interest of the villagers,” he said.

Regarding gasification, the chief minister said that Rs6.5 billion had been released from 2008-09 to 2012-13 for gasification of 961 villages.

The meeting was attended by Energy Minister Imtiaz Shaikh, Planning and Development chairman Mohammad Waseem, finance secretary Hassan Naqvi and others.

The energy minister told the meeting that every village with a population of 100 souls and located within four kilometres from the existing 11kV line and within one kilometre from high-tension line qualified for electrification.

He said that the government had selected 1,124 villages for electrification and DISCOs had prepared estimated cost of electrification in 638 of the villages, which came to Rs1.473 million. The estimate for the works in the remaining 486 villages might come to Rs966m, he added.

It was stated that gasification of 860 villages had been completed at a cost of Rs5.1bn and work in 43 villages with a cost of Rs361.9m was in progress. Gasification in 58 other villages at a cost of Rs239.983m was yet to be started, the CM was told.

Published in Dawn, February 26th, 2021