With assembly elections round the corner, the Uttar Pradesh government has expedited rural electrification programme and so far provided close to one lakh power connections in rural households across the state.
As per data provided by the Union Ministry of Energy, more than 50 per cent of households electrified under the Central government’s ambitious Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya) are from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Odisha.
Uttar Pradesh, which goes to assembly polls early next year, has reaped the maximum benefits under the scheme by electrifying more than 91.80 lakh households, which is 33 per cent of the total households. Even during pandemic times, the state continued to implement the Saubhagya scheme and electrified 4.11 lakh households in 2020-21.
Electricity supply to households is one of the major political issues in the state.
Under the Saubhagya scheme, as on March 31, 2021, all states reported 100 per cent electrification of un-electrified households, identified before March 2019. A total of 2.817 crore households have been electrified since the launch of the scheme. In October, 2017, the Centre had launched the scheme aiming universal household electrification by providing power connections to all un-electrified households in rural areas and all poor households in urban areas.
The four major challenges faced while carrying out electrification of households scattered in inaccessible and remote areas were difficult and hilly terrain, inclement weather, riverine/marshy/snowbound, transportation of material by head loading, helicopters, bamboo bridges, rafts, boats, etc.
As per Union power ministry, the total financial implications of the project were Rs 16,320 crore while the Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) was Rs 12,320 crore. The outlay for rural households was Rs 14,025 crore and for urban households, the outlay stood at Rs 2,295 crore. The Central government largely provided funds for the scheme to all states and Union Territories.