In a major stride toward transforming Punjab’s power sector, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, along with Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, on Wednesday inaugurated the state’s ambitious ‘Roshan Punjab’ project in Jalandhar. The ₹5,000-crore initiative aims to modernise Punjab’s entire power transmission and distribution network, making zero power cut, round-the-clock free electricity a reality for every household within a year.
Laying the foundation stone of the state-of-the-art network, the AAP Chief said the AAP government is overhauling Punjab’s power infrastructure on a massive scale. “We will lay 25,000 kilometres of new cables, install 8,000 new transformers, build 77 new substations, and upgrade 200 existing ones. Once completed, Punjab’s entire power system will be fully modernised and monitored centrally at the click of a button,” he said. The event was attended by Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora, Lok Sabha MP Dr. Raj Kumar Chabbewal, Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Mittal, and other dignitaries.
Speaking at the event, AAP National Convenor Kejriwal recalled the devastation caused by recent floods in Punjab, noting that such calamity had not been witnessed in the state’s history. “The floods caused unprecedented loss of life and property. Crops were washed away, homes were destroyed, livestock perished. Around 3,000 schools and 1,500 mohalla clinics and hospitals were damaged,” he said.
Turning to Punjab’s power revolution, the AAP Chief said that providing 24-hour electricity is no small achievement. “It is no small matter to ensure uninterrupted 24-hour power supply in Punjab. Tell me one other state in the country — one Chief Minister, one party, even the Central Government — that has even dreamt of this, let alone achieved it. Their thinking doesn’t even reach the point of imagining round-the-clock electricity,” he said.
Arvind Kejriwal added that AAP had made it possible in Delhi and is now doing the same in Punjab. “When we first made electricity free in Delhi, they mocked us. But we showed it could be done. Within just four months of forming the government in Punjab, we provided free electricity to 90% of households. Now we are taking the next step — ensuring 24-hour supply,” he announced.
The AAP Supremo explained how Punjab’s farmers, who earlier had to wake up at midnight to irrigate fields because power came only at night, now receive assured daytime supply. “Every farmer now gets 8 hours of guaranteed power during the day. They no longer have to lose sleep waiting for electricity,” he said.
Arvind Kejriwal also highlighted how Punjab now provides one of the cheapest power tariffs for industries. “Punjab offers the fourth-lowest industrial electricity rates in India. But free power alone means little if supply is unreliable — so we are now ensuring 24-hour uninterrupted electricity,” he said.
The AAP Head announced a massive ₹5,000-crore infrastructure upgrade in the state. “This has been in preparation for over a year. Punjab does not lack electricity — the problem lies in its outdated transmission and distribution network. Power lines have corroded and transformers are burning out. With the growing population, the load on transformers has increased significantly, causing several of them to fail every day. A large number of transformers and cables will have to be replaced. And no upgrading has happened in the past 75 years,” he said.
Outlining the scale of the project, Arvind Kejriwal said, “We will lay 25,000 kilometres of new cables — I don’t think Congress or Akali Dal governments together installed even that much in 25 years. The AAP government will complete this within one year, installing 8,000 new transformers, building 77 new substations, and overhauling 200 existing substations.”
He said the new system would be entirely modern, monitored centrally through the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system. “Now every fault, every transformer, every circuit will be visible from the control room itself. There will be no need to send teams blindly into the field. This is Punjab’s leap into modern energy management,” he said confidently.
Expressing optimism, Arvind Kejriwal said, “From today, we begin this journey with the hope that by next summer, Punjab will have zero power cuts. That is my firm belief. I pray to Waheguru Ji that this dream — ours and the people’s — will surely come true.”
The AAP Chief also praised Cabinet Minister Sanjeev Arora for delivering on his election promise to Ludhiana residents. “During the campaign, he would point to the tangled overhead wires and promise to fix them. We made him Power Minister — and he fulfilled his word. Now not just Ludhiana, but all of Punjab’s hanging and dangerous wires will be fixed. These old, ugly, unsafe cables will be replaced,” Arvind Kejriwal said.
He concluded by calling the project “historic and transformative.” “What is happening in Punjab today is unprecedented. Across the rest of the country, no one is even thinking on this scale. The people of Punjab deserve congratulations for this visionary progress,” said the AAP Supremo.
AAP MP provided jobs at his university to families of 35 out of the 60 people who lost their lives in the floods: Arvind Kejriwal
Praising AAP MP Ashok Mittal’s humanitarian gesture, the AAP Chief said, “In this moment of tragedy, our MP Ashok Mittal made an extraordinary announcement. For every family that lost a member in the floods, he offered employment to one child in his university (Lovely Professional University). Around 60 people lost their lives, and he extended this offer to all families — 35 have already accepted it.”
Arvind Kejriwal said such an act of recurring commitment went far beyond one-time charity. “Donating a few crores once is one thing, but offering lifetime employment — a recurring expenditure — reflects true compassion. I congratulate Ashok Mittal for embodying such noble thinking and feel proud that AAP has people like him,” he said.
Referring to the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita, Arvind Kejriwal remarked, “God gives wealth not for personal indulgence but by making one a trustee. Whatever is necessary for one’s household may be kept, the rest must serve society. Ashok Mittal has truly lived that message through his actions.”
Arvind Kejriwal’s visionary thinking has forced every political party to rewrite its election manifesto: Bhagwant Singh Mann
Meanwhile, Punjab CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the vision and dynamism of AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal has forced the traditional political parties to change their manifestos. “Education, health and power had acquired a centre stage in the political agenda of the parties due to the concerted efforts of AAP and its national convener Arvind Kejriwal. He said that prior to this none of the political parties had ever bothered about these core sectors that have been most important for a common man,” he added.
The Punjab CM said that realizing well that power is the lifeline of the economy, the state government has taken several key initiatives to augment this sector. “It is a matter of immense pride and satisfaction that due to concerted efforts of the state government all the sectors domestic, industrial and agriculture are getting uninterrupted power supply. Owing to the massive efforts of the state government, coal supply from Pachwara coal mine, which was shut since 2015, was resumed due to which the state now has surplus coal,” he noted.
The Chief Minister said that contrary to the fact that the assets of the country are being sold at meager prices to the friends of the Union government, the state has created history by purchasing Goindwal power plant owned by a private company GVK Power. “For the first time this reverse trend has started that a government has purchased any private power plant whereas in the past the state governments used to sell their assets to the favorite individuals at ‘throw away’ prices. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that the state government has named this power plant after the third Sikh Guru Sri Guru Amardass ji,” said the Punjab CM.
CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said that 90% of households in Punjab are receiving zero electricity bills, which has provided huge economic relief to the public adding that Punjab has emerged as a lighthouse for the country with these power sector reforms. “Nothing concrete had taken place in the power sector in the state during the misrule of Congress and Akali-BJP. However, Bhagwant Singh Mann said after assuming charge his government has taken several key initiatives in the power sector adding that these power sector reforms will further strengthen the power sector in the state.
The Chief Minister said that unemployment is the root cause of several social problems due to which the state government is focusing on eradicating this malady and so far around 55,000 government jobs have been provided to the youth. “The jobs have been provided completely on the basis of merit to the youth and that too in a transparent manner. The drug mafia was patronized by the earlier governments but his government has launched a crusade- Yudh Nasheyan Virudh against drugs,” he added.
CM Bhagwant Singh Mann said meticulous planning has been done to wipe out the menace of drugs from the state and now war against drugs has begun in a full-fledged manner. “The state government is duty bound to illuminate Punjab by wiping out every kind of darkness from Punjab for which no stone is being left unturned. The state government has set up Schools of Eminence across the state to impart quality education to the students,” he asserted.
The Punjab CM said that 265 students from Schools of Eminence and other government schools have qualified for the JEE Mains exam. Likewise, 44 students have cleared JEE Advanced and 848 students have qualified for NEET. Bhagwant Singh Mann said that 881 Aam Aadmi Clinics have been opened in the last three years, and this number will soon cross 1,000 adding that so far these clinics have provided free medicine to 1.75 crore people.
“Such functions never used to take place during the previous regimes as the state government wanted to keep the people in the dark. In the last 3.5 years of his tenure his government has cleaned the mess created by the previous regimes in the last 75 years. Those affluent leaders who have misused the power to usurp the rights of people or to ruin their lives will not be spared by any means,” concluded the Punjab CM.
