SRINAGAR: More than 3.77 lakh households in Jammu and Kashmir were provided electricity connections under the Centre’s Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya), the Union Government informed the Rajya Sabha, even as fresh electrification works sanctioned under a follow-up scheme are yet to translate into new connections on the ground in the Union Territory.
Replying to an unstarred question in the Upper House, Minister of State for Power Shripad Naik said 3,77,045 households in Jammu and Kashmir were electrified during the Saubhagya period, which was launched in October 2017 to ensure universal household electrification for all willing un-electrified rural and poor urban homes.
Nationally, 286 lakh households were electrified under the scheme against an initial estimate of 300 lakh un-electrified homes. The Centre said all states and Union Territories have reported 100 per cent electrification of identified willing households as of March 31, 2019.
For Jammu and Kashmir, the bulk of electrification was achieved during the Saubhagya phase. However, subsequent works sanctioned under the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS), aimed at covering particularly vulnerable, remote and left-out households, are still at an early stage.
According to data placed before Parliament, 15,359 additional households in the Union Territory were sanctioned for electrification under one RDSS component, but none had been electrified so far. Under another component targeting remote and special category households, 13,824 homes were sanctioned, again with zero reported electrification to date.
Together, nearly 29,200 sanctioned households in Jammu and Kashmir are yet to receive connections under these newer phases.
The RDSS has been launched to strengthen distribution infrastructure and improve the quality and reliability of power supply, with nationwide projects worth Rs 2.62 lakh crore approved. Of this, Rs 6,522 crore has been sanctioned specifically for household electrification in difficult and remote areas across the country.
On financing, the government said the Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) raised extra-budgetary borrowings of Rs 2,950 crore for Saubhagya and Rs 21,159.30 crore for the related Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana. The Ministry stated that all the funds were utilised within the stipulated time, with no interest burden on unutilised balances.
