The Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (‘Saubhagya’)
It claims to ensure electrification of all willing households in the country
It makes promises to provide a free electricity connection to all willing BPL households
And to all others on a payment of Rs. 500 (which shall be recovered by the power distribution companies/power departments in 10 instalments along with electricity bills)
Some issues related to this scheme
It expects the poor to pay the bills without providing any subsidy to ease their burden
Even to the best of their abilities the poor would often not be in a position to pay regular electricity bills, which in turn could result in disconnection
The government has conveniently overlooked the fact that for the poor in some States, the inability to pay an electricity bill is a big impediment
This new scheme is just a way of refurbishing the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY)
The DDUGJY scheme of rural electrification launched in July 2015, which aimed to electrify all un-electrified villages by May 2018
Was DDUGJY successful?: Under DDUGJY, the government managed to electrify 14,701 villages while 2,760 villages remain un-electrified; out of these, work is still in progress in a total of 2,611 villages
However, out of the 14,701 villages, only in 8%, i.e. 1,198 villages, do all households have connectivity
The Saubhagya scheme may only be able to plug the gaps and address the issues of entry barrier, last mile connectivity and release of connections
But it can guarantee neither regular electricity supply nor continuation of those connections in case of non-payment
A free electricity connection may provide some relief as far as the financial burden is concerned
However, expecting poor households to bear the recurring burden of bills as per the prevailing tariff of DISCOMs is unimaginable
Issue with the definition of an ‘electrified village’
Even if we take into consideration the fact that so many villages have been “electrified”, the next point of contention is the definition used
According to the definition, a village is considered to be electrified if 10% households have an electricity connection and related basic infrastructure
Furthermore, even in these 10% of households, there is no promise of minimum hours of supply
Regular supply of electricity is not possible in current circumstances
Even if the programme is successful, hypothetically, and all households are provided a connection, there would still be the problem of regular supply
Industry estimates suggest that this scheme would potentially require an additional 28,000 MW and additional energy of about 80,000 million units per annum, which is roughly 7% of India’s current installed power capacity
There is a power shortage even at this moment leading to scheduled and unscheduled load shedding, often up to 10 hours or more
The problem is graver still in interior rural India
The way forward certainly, Saubhagya has some positives such as provision for households outside the reach of grid lines
However, our contention is that the policy has set a standard for itself without enough focus on its capacity to deliver results
The policy statement echoes the commitment to facilitate economic growth and social development.
It claims to ensure electrification of all willing households in the country
It makes promises to provide a free electricity connection to all willing BPL households
And to all others on a payment of Rs. 500 (which shall be recovered by the power distribution companies/power departments in 10 instalments along with electricity bills)
Some issues related to this scheme
It expects the poor to pay the bills without providing any subsidy to ease their burden
Even to the best of their abilities the poor would often not be in a position to pay regular electricity bills, which in turn could result in disconnection
The government has conveniently overlooked the fact that for the poor in some States, the inability to pay an electricity bill is a big impediment
This new scheme is just a way of refurbishing the Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY)
The DDUGJY scheme of rural electrification launched in July 2015, which aimed to electrify all un-electrified villages by May 2018
Was DDUGJY successful?: Under DDUGJY, the government managed to electrify 14,701 villages while 2,760 villages remain un-electrified; out of these, work is still in progress in a total of 2,611 villages
However, out of the 14,701 villages, only in 8%, i.e. 1,198 villages, do all households have connectivity
The Saubhagya scheme may only be able to plug the gaps and address the issues of entry barrier, last mile connectivity and release of connections
But it can guarantee neither regular electricity supply nor continuation of those connections in case of non-payment
A free electricity connection may provide some relief as far as the financial burden is concerned
However, expecting poor households to bear the recurring burden of bills as per the prevailing tariff of DISCOMs is unimaginable
Issue with the definition of an ‘electrified village’
Even if we take into consideration the fact that so many villages have been “electrified”, the next point of contention is the definition used
According to the definition, a village is considered to be electrified if 10% households have an electricity connection and related basic infrastructure
Furthermore, even in these 10% of households, there is no promise of minimum hours of supply
Regular supply of electricity is not possible in current circumstances
Even if the programme is successful, hypothetically, and all households are provided a connection, there would still be the problem of regular supply
Industry estimates suggest that this scheme would potentially require an additional 28,000 MW and additional energy of about 80,000 million units per annum, which is roughly 7% of India’s current installed power capacity
There is a power shortage even at this moment leading to scheduled and unscheduled load shedding, often up to 10 hours or more
The problem is graver still in interior rural India
The way forward certainly, Saubhagya has some positives such as provision for households outside the reach of grid lines
However, our contention is that the policy has set a standard for itself without enough focus on its capacity to deliver results
The policy statement echoes the commitment to facilitate economic growth and social development.
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