ELECTRIFICATION OF VILLAGES
ELECTRIFICATION OF VILLAGES
Electricity being a concurrent subject, supply and distribution of electricity to all consumers, in rural as well as urban areas, is within the purview of the respective State Government/ distribution utility. Government of India has been supplementing the efforts of the States in providing access to quality power to all consumers through schemes like Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) launched in 2014, Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA) launched in October, 2017, and currently under Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) launched in 2021.
The objective of DDUGJY was to connect every inhabited un-electrified census village with electricity, and to strengthen the rural electricity distribution system. The objective of SAUBHAGYA was achieving universal household electrification by providing electricity connections to all willing un-electrified households in rural areas and all willing poor households in urban areas in the country by March, 2019.
The definition of ‘electrified village’ is as per the Rural Electrification Policy, 2006 but under SAUBHAGYA, electrification of all households was taken up, which is continuing under the ongoing scheme of RDSS.
As reported by the States/ UTs, all the inhabited un-electrified census villages in the country were electrified by 28th April, 2018. A total of 18,374 villages were electrified under DDUGJY including 49, 25,124 Below Poverty Line (BPL) households. Under DDUGJY and thereafter under SAUBHAGYA electrification of all willing households was completed by 31st March, 2019 as reported by the States/ UTs. A total of 2.86 crore households were electrified during SAUBHAGYA period. Both the schemes stand closed as on 31.03.2022.
Under the RDSS, on grid electrification works amounting to Rs. 6,521 Cr. have been sanctioned for 13.65 lakh households including households belonging to Particularly vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) identified under Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM-JANMAN), households belonging to Scheduled Tribes (STs) under DA-JGUA (Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan), households belonging to Scheduled Castes (SC) under Pradhan Mantri Anusuchit Jaati Abhyuday Yojana (PM-AJAY) and households in remote & border areas under Vibrant Village Program (VVP), wherever found feasible. Out of the above, a total of 2.93 lakh households have been electrified till date.
This Information was given by The Minister of State in the Ministry of Power, Shri Shripad Naik, in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.