PM Narendra Modi assured electricity to all households by December 2018
NEW DELHI : Prime Minister Narendra Modi today launched the ‘Saubhagya scheme’ to give free electricity connections to poor families in both cities and villages by 2018 with a total outlay of Rs. 16,320 crores, which will be funded largely by the centre. No poor person will have to pay for electricity connections, the Prime Minster has said.
“New India will not only have power in all villages but in every home,” said PM Modi on Monday evening while the announcing the scheme, adding, “We have decided the burden for this will not be borne by the poor. The poor used to have to go around in circles trying to get power… the government will now go to their homes to give them electricity.”
Four crore homes in the country still don’t have power connections, which means that of the 25 crore homes in India, he said. “25 percent people are without power, living in 18th century,” PM Modi said. The scheme will turn around the fortunes of such families, PM Modi said, explaining its name – Saubhagya means good fortune.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on launched a Rs16,320-crore electricity scheme radhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana “Saubhagya”—to provide electricity connections to over 4 crore families in rural and urban areas by December 2018.“Rs16,000 crore will be spent to bring a monumental change in the lives of the poor,” Modi said while launching the “Saubhagya” scheme in New Delhi. The prime minister regretted that even after 70 years of independence, four crore out of 25 crore families did not have access to power.
Under the Saubhagya scheme, the government proposes to provide electricity to all households by December 2018, ahead of the earlier target of March 2019. All villages would be electrified by December this year ahead of the scheduled deadline of 1 May 2018. “This is a reflection of working style and will power,” Modi said, adding that power connection will be provided free of cost to all poor families under the scheme.
The prime minister also called upon ONGC to use its Rs100 crore startup funds to develop user-friendly electric cooking appliances saying it would help in reducing the fuel consumption. According to an official statement, the total outlay of the Saubhagya scheme is Rs16,320 crore while the gross budgetary support (GBS) is Rs12,320 crore. The outlay for the rural households is Rs14,025 crore while the GBS is Rs10,587.50 crore. For the urban households, the outlay is Rs2,295 crore while GBS is Rs1,732.50 crore. The Centre will provide all states and union territories most of the funds for the scheme.
The beneficiaries for free electricity connections would be identified using Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data. However, the statement said that un-electrified households not covered under the SECC data would also be provided electricity connections under the scheme on payment of Rs500 which shall be recovered by power distribution companies in 10 instalments through electricity bills.
The Saubhagya scheme also has solar power packs of 200-300 W with battery bank for unelectrified households located in remote and inaccessible areas, comprising of Five LED lights, One DC fan, One DC power plug.n Beneficiaries of Saubhagya scheme shall be identified and their application for electricity connection along with applicant photograph and identity proof shall be registered on the spot, the statement said.
The Gram Panchayat/public institutions in the rural areas may be authorised to collect application forms along with complete documentation, distribute bills and collect revenue in consultation with the Panchayat Raj Institutions and urban local bodies. The Rural Electrification Corporation Limited (REC) will remain the nodal agency for the operationalisation of the Saubhagya scheme throughout the country.
he government has been working hard to electrify all villages in the country and also want to achieve 24X7 Power for All by March 2019. In 2015, the prime minister had announced to electrify the remaining 18,452 unelectrified villages in 1,000 days in his Independence Day speech. However, the power ministry is expected to electrify all villages by December this year.
According to the GARV portal, out of the 18,452 villages, 14,483 villages have been electrified so far. The electrification work is in progress on 2981 villages while 988 villages are uninhabited. The portal also indicates that out of the 17.92 crore households in rural areas, 13.87 crore families have got electricity connections. As many as 4.05 crore families are yet to be provided electricity connections.oooooooo
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has launched the Saubhagya Scheme. The major objective of the ambitious project is to provide last-mile electrification, including in the remotest pockets of the country.
The government has set an ambitious target for the Saubhagya scheme. It has asked all state governments and union territories to complete the task of complete electrification by March 31, 2019. It is anyone’s guess if it is incidental that that deadline comes just ahead of when the next Lok Sabha election is set to take place.
The formal name of the programme is the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Scheme, which has been acronymised as the Saubhagya Scheme. It features a total outlay of Rs 16,320 crore, of which the Centre would provide Rs 12,320 crore. State governments would bear 10 percent of the project cost. Of the total allocation, Rs 14,000 crore would be used for rural electrification, and Rs 2,300 crore for urban areas.
The beneficiaries for free electricity connections would be identified using Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC) 2011 data, the government said. Families not covered under the SECC data would also be provided electricity connections under the scheme on payment of Rs. 500 which shall be recovered by the service providers in 10 instalments through electricity bill, it added.
In 2015, PM Modi had announced that the government would electrify all 18,452 villages without power in 1,000 days in his Independence Day speech. However, the Power Ministry is expected to electrify all habited villages by December this year. According to the government, out of the 18,452 villages, 14,483 villages have been electrified so far. The electrification work is in progress on 2,981 villages while 988 villages are uninhabited.
