No proposal from Centre on atomic energy units: Punjab CM

Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Tuesday said he was yet to receive any proposal from the Central government for establishment of atomic energy units at the Bathinda and Ropar power plants.

At the same time, the Chief Minister said he had never had any problems working with the Centre.

Cordial relations between the Central and state governments were important in a federal structure, and he had no issues dealing with any government at the Centre in the interest of Punjab, he told reporters here.

Talks on using atomic energy for power production had been going on for a long time but there was nothing concrete yet on the table, he said in response to a question.

"At the moment, I do not even have a power minister," he said, in an apparent reference to Navjot Singh Sidhu's resignation after his refusal to take over the Power portfolio allocated to him as part of a state Cabinet reshuffle post the Lok Sabha elections.

He said he has been personally monitoring the Power Department functioning on a day-to-day basis, in view of the ongoing paddy season which requires continuous power.

The state has been witnessing an unprecedented peak demand of power in view of the erratic monsoon which has led to a rain deficit in some areas. IANS