Gandhinagar, Jun 3 (PTI) The Gujarat government has decided to make cities and towns in the state overhead wire-free by transforming the existing electricity cables distribution network into an underground system by 2030, a minister said on Wednesday.
The move is aimed at preventing accidents like short-circuits, and reducing technical faults.
“Gujarat will have ‘wire-free’ cities in a phased manner by 2030. For the initial phase of this ambitious project, the state government has approved a provision of Rs 500 crore,” state government spokesperson and minister Jitu Vaghani said.
He was speaking at a press briefing in Gandhinagar following the cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
The state government granted in-principle approval to the ‘Gujarat Wire-Free City Mission’, which aligns with the vision of Prime Minister Narendra Modi for creating green and smart cities, an official release stated.
Under the Wire-Free Mission, the existing overhead electricity distribution network in cities will be completely converted into an underground cable network, it added.
The mission will cover all 17 municipal corporations and 151 municipalities in Gujarat to improve the beauty, safety and overall urban environment of the state’s cities, Vaghani said.
More than 14,600 circuit kilometres of high tension (HT) overhead power lines and over 31,400 circuit kilometers of low-tension (LT) overhead power lines will be transformed into an underground network in phases, the release said.
In the first phase of the project, 11 kV (kilovolts) overhead power lines will be converted into underground cables, followed by the conversion of low-tension lines.
The minister added that underground cabling will help prevent accidents such as wire breakages and short circuits during natural disasters like cyclones and storms. It will also reduce technical faults, ensuring that citizens receive more reliable, uninterrupted, and higher-quality electricity services. PTI KVM PD NP
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