Power Ministry feels no need to change electrification definition

Power Ministry feels no need to change electrification definition

What has happened?

The government had in September 2017 launched the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya), aimed at covering the last-mile connectivity of taking electricity to the household level. The target for the scheme is March 31, 2019.

“Electrified village”

Village is declared electrified if at least 10% of its households have electricity connection

Official definition

A village is deemed to be electrified if basic infrastructure such as a distribution transformer and distribution lines are in place in the inhabited locality, electricity is provided to public places like schools, panchayat office, health centres, dispensaries, community centres, and at least 10% of the households in the village are electrified.

Saubhagya Scheme

• According to data from the Ministry of Power and the Central Electricity Authority, so far 84.3% of households have been electrified.
• The Saubhagya scheme defines the electrification of a household as including a service line cable, energy meter, and single point wiring
• For unelectrified households in remote areas, electrification will involve the provision of power packs of 200 to 300 W (with battery bank) with a maximum of 5 LED lights, 1 DC Fan, and 1 DC power plug

Ground reality different?

While several villages were deemed to be electrified in the official data, the on-ground engineers had registered complaints that key components such as transmission wires had been stolen, leaving the village unelectrified.