Two years ago, Union Government floated the flagship programme for electrification of rural India called Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY).J&K State was also brought under the ambit of this programme. When the Prime Minister floated the scheme it was said that power to the rural areas and in particular to farmers would be supplied without interruption.
This scheme has not taken off in our State even after two years. The reason is that the PDD floated tenders for various components of the task not once but thrice and still no progress could be made. This is mainly because companies are quoting much higher rates than the scheduled rates of PDD. The simple solution of this problem is that the PDD should reconsider the scheduled rate list and modify it in accordance with the market rates. The major components of the scheme are feeder separation; strengthening of sub-transmission and distribution network; metering at all levels (input points, feeders and distribution transformers); micro-grid and off grid distribution network and rural electrification. Monitoring Committee of the Union Ministry of Power took all these components into consideration and sanctioned an amount of 619 crore rupees. Along with conveying sanction, the Union Ministry of Power stressed upon the PDD to expedite work on the components without loss of time. The PDP-BJP Coalition Government in the State should have taken special interest in implementing the programme especially when it knows that the same in meant for farmers and people living in rural parts of J&K.
It is simply disappointing to know that two years have gone by and the PDD is yet to find any approved tender for any of the above mentioned components. Unless the rates are revised, it is no use floating tenders one after the other. The PDD should have tried to find out how come other states have been able to implement the schemes and bring power to the rural areas while our State is caught up in the tendering mess. Repeating the exercise time and again clearly shows that there is something more than what meets the eye. There is an agency somewhere which is not interested in making the tendering succeed and is prevailing upon the PDD not to think of revising the scheduled rates. Union Ministry of Power is surprised on the situation in J&K State but the State is not showing any concern about the loss of such a rare opportunity that would see the big revolution in power supply in the State. According to the statistics of the Union Ministry of Power there are a total of 6337 inhabited villages in Jammu and Kashmir and as on July 31, 2017 a total of 102 villages were yet to be electrified. Had the scheme been rolled out timely the number of un-electrified villages could have been reduced considerably. The programme has also the component of providing employment to hundreds of unemployed people both skilled and non-skilled. It is a big loss to the society in that respect also. If the PDD has undertaken to electrify the non electrified villages by the end of the year that is all right but what about other components of the scheme? That is a major question. It all boils down to one thing and that is revising the scheduled rates and call for fresh tenders accordingly.
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