(a) whether the Government has met the target of cent per cent rural electrification in the country;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether it is a fact that the schemes to ensure seamless power supply and robust infrastructure are far from completion and more than half of the funds allocated for these schemes remain unutilized; and
(d) if so, the details thereof along with the steps being taken to achieve the target on time?
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) & (b) : As reported by the States, all the inhabited census villages stand electrified as on 28.04.2018. Further, all the States reported electrification of all households, as on 31.03.2019, except few households in LWE affected Bastar region of Chhattisgarh.
(c) & (d) : Electricity is a concurrent subject and as such providing electricity connection to households falls under the purview of State Governments / Power Utility. All the States/UTs have entered into Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of India for providing 24 x 7 power supply to all households, industrial and commercial consumers from April, 2019 and adequate supply of power to agricultural consumers as per State policy. Government of India supplement the efforts of the States through its various schemes including Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY), Integrated Power Development Scheme (IPDS), Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana- Saubhagya and Ujjwal Discom Assurance Yojana (UDAY).
Substantial progress has been made under DDUGJY & Saubhagya schemes towards creation of electricity infrastructure and providing electricity connections to households. Under these schemes, funds are released for sanctioned projects in installments based on the reported utilisation of amount in the previous installment(s) and fulfillment of stipulated conditionalities. So far Rs.45,174.89 crore have been released under various projects of DDUGJY and States have reported 69% overall progress.
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