Rural electrification scheme hits roadblock

New Delhi, Jan 31 The government&aposs ambitious rural electrification programme RGGVY has run into rough weathers as out of total 27 participating states under the scheme, 20 states have not submitted their Rural Electrification (RE) plans yet.

"All states are required to finalise the RE plan. But at present, only seven states -- Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Nagaland and Mizoram -- have finalised RE plan out of 27 participating states,"sources said.

Besides, none of the states has produced panchayat certificates for the electrified villages under the scheme. The scheme is also facing problem of non-availability of land for transmission station. There are delays in acquiring assets by state utilities.

The scheme, Rajeev Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY), is facing other hurdles also. In some states the strength of safety inspectors is not adequate, while some states Bihar, Jharkhand, Jammu and Kashmir and Uttar Pradesh have not finalised below power line list to serve the purpose of the scheme.

RGGVY was launched in 2005 to provide power connection to all the un-electrified villages in the country.

Under the scheme, the government provides 90 per cent subsidy for electricity distribution infrastructure and 100 per cent subsidy for providing power connections to rural households.

The government has already provided electricity connections to 18 lakh Below Poverty Line (BPL) households out of the targeted 50 lakh such families this fiscal.