Question : Irregularities under Saubhagya

(a) the amount of funds provided by the Government to Madhya Pradesh under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana-Saubhagya during the last three years and the current year with special reference to Chambal and Gwalior regions;

(b) whether the estimates prepared by the department are overstated but the expenditure is shown as per the estimates and the remaining amount is used for other works and if so, the details thereof;

(c) whether any irregularities have been found in this regard and if so, the details thereof along with the investigation conducted for the purpose;

(d) the details of the officers found guilty in the said investigation alongwith the action taken against them; and

(e) the details of the investigation report prepared by the team of the Union Government and the State Government of Madhya Pradesh in this regard?

THE MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR POWER, NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY AND THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR SKILL DEVELOPMENT & ENTREPRENEURSHIP

(SHRI R.K. SINGH)

(a) to (e) : A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT

STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (e) OF STARRED QUESTION NO.435 TO BE ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 25.03.2021 REGARDING IRREGULARITIES UNDER SAUBHAGYA
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(a) : Under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana - Saubhagya, funds are not allocated or released region-wise. Under the Scheme, Government of India had sanctioned an amount of Rs. 872.6 Crore for the State of Madhya Pradesh based on the un-electrified household data submitted by the State. Since launch of the Saubhagya scheme and till 28.2.2021, Rs. 413.78 Crore has been released to the State of Madhya Pradesh. The year-wise details of funds sanctioned and released to the State of Madhya Pradesh are as under:-
(Rupees in Crore)
Name of Scheme Sanctioned Amount Grant released till 28.02.2021
2017-18 2018-19 2019-20 2020-21 Total
Saubhagya 872.6 260.37 147.09 - 6.32 413.79

(b) : The Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) were prepared by the Discoms of the State as per their approved Schedule of Rates (SoR). The reduction in final cost, if any shall be deducted on submission of closure report by the Discoms from the balance grant to be released.

Under Saubhagya, the tendering for award of contracts and implementation of works is done by the respective State Power Utilities / Project Implementing Agencies; and in the case of Madhya Pradesh, awards were placed by three utilities viz. (i) Madhya Pradesh Paschim Kshetra Vidyut Vitran, Indore, (ii)Madhya Pradesh Madhya Kshetra Vidyut Vitran Company Limited, Bhopal, (iii) Madhya Pradesh Poorv Kshetra Vidyut Vitaran Company Limited, Jabalpur.

The Saubhagya Guidelines do not permit use of the sanctioned amount for any other works. Further, no such request has been received or approved for using the sanctioned amount under Saubhagya for other works.

(c) to (e) : Government of India has appointed REC Ltd as the Nodal Agency for the Scheme. As per the Scheme Guidelines, the Nodal Agency shall monitor physical and financial progress of the projects including quality of works through a three tier mechanism of (i) quality control of turnkey contractor, (ii) quality control of PIA through Project Management Agency (PMA) and (iii) quality control exercised by the nodal agency i.e. REC. No irregularities have been reported by the State Government of Madhya Pradesh or the DISCOMs to REC.

In order to conduct inspections and rectification in an efficient manner, an online quality portal “Sakshya” has been devised by the nodal agency for uploading of observations by quality monitoring agencies and submission of compliances by DISCOMs/PIAs.
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