Electrification of over 3.80 lakh households across State
Step aimed at avoiding further embarrassment from Centre
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Aug 24: Taking serious note of slackness in electrification of over 3.80 lakh un-electrified households across Jammu and Kashmir, Chief Secretary has directed the Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners to monitor the performance of the Power Development Department (PDD) in this regard on weekly basis so as to meet the deadlines fixed by the Prime Minister.
The EXCELSIOR in its edition dated August 18, 2018 had exclusively reported that Union Ministry of Power has pulled up Jammu and Kashmir for dilly-dallying approach in electrification of over 3.80 lakh households in different parts of the State despite liberal financial assistance under major schemes aimed at ensuring Power for All by December 31, 2018.
As only few months have been left to meet the deadlines for electrification of over 3.80 lakh households, which is really a daunting task for the Power Development Department and Power Grid Corporation of India Limited, the Chief Secretary B V R Subrahmanyam has asked the Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners to closely monitor the progress of the Power Development Department.
“Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners should take personal interest in this regard so that every household has a power connection within the stipulated time-frame—November 30, 2018 in Saubhagya areas and December 31, 2018 in other areas”, the Chief Secretary said in a communication to the Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners.
Stating that achieving the deadline fixed by the Prime Minister would be a feather in the cap of the State and all those connected with the exercise of ensuring Power for All, the Chief Secretary has also asked the Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners to ensure that agencies engaged for the electrification works don’t face any sort of inconvenience/difficulties and all their issues are promptly resolved, sources said.
He has suggested reviewing the progress of the PDD and PGCIL on weekly basis for smooth execution of the electrification work. “The Chief Secretary has explicitly conveyed to the divisional and district heads that any major impediment in the completion of work should be promptly brought to his notice for necessary and timely corrective measures”, sources informed.
“The assigning of task of monitoring to Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners is aimed at avoiding further embarrassment from the Union Government , which is leaving no stone unturned to ensure that announcement of Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding Power for All is translated into reality across the country by December 31, 2018”, sources further said.
As per the official data, of total 3.81 lakh un-electrified households, 2.26 lakh are required to be electrified under Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and Prime Minister Development Programme-Rural (PMDP-R) and remaining 1.55 lakh under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana commonly known as Saubhagya.
It is pertinent to mention here that Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana was launched by the Prime Minister on July 25, 2015 for facilitating 24×7 supply of power by focusing on feeder separation (rural households and agricultural) and strengthening of sub-transmission and distribution infrastructure including metering at all levels in rural areas.
Similarly, Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana -“Saubhagya” was launched on September 25, 2017 to ensure electrification of those households which could not be covered under any other power sector scheme.
As already reported, delay in implementation of DDUGJY and PMDP-Rural is responsible for the present daunting task. Had the projects under both these schemes been completed as expeditiously as possible only 1.55 lakh households would have to be electrified with the aim of providing Power for All.
Even the Union Ministry of Power has directed the State for furnishing information about progress on electrification works after regular intervals so that exact status could be ascertained and Prime Minister’s Office is updated accordingly.
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