Power, energy ministry to be paperless in 3yrs: Nasrul

State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid today said his ministry has been working to make it paperless within next three years.

“A world-renowned consultant is working in this field to implement the government’s plan to make the country digital,” he said while addressing a meet the press session at Dhaka Reporters Unity (DRU).

The DRU arranged the meet the press session as a regular programme with its president Shakhawat Hossain Badsha in the chair, while general secretary M Mursalin Nomani moderated the function.

The state minister highlighted the government led by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s different development initiatives to ensure energy security aimed at making the country a middle income country by 2021.

He said the power generation capacity reached to 15,351 megawatt (MW), three times higher, and the number of beneficiaries reached to 80 percent from 47 percent before 2009.

Replying to a query, the state minister said Bangladesh needs highly professional workforces to take immediate decision for some technical projects like deep sea blocks, coal-based power plants and other power and energy related projects.

He said the government is marching forward by materialising the vision-2021 and his ministry is working to provide electricity connection to individual client within one working day, while connection of power to industry within the shortest time.

“We have targeted to bring all citizens under electricity coverage by 2021 and now 5.50 lakh people get power connection per month, which was only 43,000 earlier,” Nasrul said.

There are two crore people getting electricity from Bangladesh Rural Electrification Board (BREB) and the government created innovative fund for loan in the power and energy sector, he said.