Ranchi, March 12 Members of the opposition in the Jharkhand assembly on Thursday raised issues such as the electricity supply problem causing inconvenience to people and alleged the slow pace of paddy procurement in the state.
Leader of the Opposition Babulal Marandi alleged that paddy procurement until March provided opportunities for middlemen.
Jarkhand MLA Jairam Mahato said that power supply restoration takes longer than usual after transformer failures or damaged wires, and claimed that this causes significant inconvenience to the public in their daily lives.
State Energy Minister Yogendra Prasad said in the House that there are sometimes delays in replacing transformers.
"Consumers are unaware of where to lodge complaints in the event of transformer failures or other technical problems. The government should strengthen the grievance redressal process and the timeframe by which such problems will be resolved," Mahato said.
BJP MLA Naveen Jaiswal said that electricity is not free. "People are paying for electricity, so they have the right to reliable services. If a transformer fails, it should be replaced within 24 hours," he emphasised.
The minister said the problem is due to a shortage of vehicles to transport transformers to remote villages.
"At times, there is a shortage of transformers, and all these factors cause a delay in the restoration of the power supply. However, the department is trying to address the situation," he said.
Responding to Mahato about a single window complaint cell, the minister said that people can lodge their grievances with the executive engineer or at the divisional office.
"Keeping in mind the summer season, the department will soon release a toll-free number so that people can easily lodge electricity-related complaints," the minister added.
CPI(ML) Liberation MLA Arup Chatterjee raised concern over the slow pace of paddy procurement in the state.
"The government has set a target of 6 lakh metric tonnes of paddy procurement, and the deadline was March 31. Going by government data, only 3 lakh metric tonnes of paddy have been procured so far. Is the government considering extending the deadline?" Chatterjee asked.
He also alleged that Primary Agricultural Credit Societies (PACS) in several blocks are not functioning properly.
Food Supply Minister Irfan Ansari admitted the slow pace in paddy procurement and said that if needed, the last date would be extended.
He said that manpower shortage and godowns located in faraway locations were the primary reasons for the tardy pace of paddy procurement, but claimed that the government was determined to achieve the target.
Parliamentary Affairs Minister Radha Krishna Kishore announced in the assembly during the debate on paddy procurement that the government has suspended a cooperative official who had siphoned off food grains meant for the poor.
"This matter pertains to the Pathna block of Sahibganj. It was raised in the House two days ago, with the leader of the opposition demanding action from the government,” said the parliamentary affairs minister.
JMM MLA Kalpana Soren demanded a quality certification lab for agriculture and forest products in the state to help farmers compete in the global platform with quality products.
