3.2 Lakh Households Remain Without Electricity Connection Till August-end Under Saubhagya Scheme: Govt

The number of un-electrified households stood at 3,20,422 till August-end this year under the Saubhagya Scheme, which is meant for achieving 100 per cent universal electrification of homes in the country, Parliament was informed on Thursday. These un-electrified households are in Chhattisgarh, Assam, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand. Power Minister RK Singh said in the Lok Sabha, replying to a question, that the number of un-electrified households identified under the Saubhagya scheme was 3,20,422 as on August 31, 2020. Among the four states with un-electrified households, Uttar Pradesh tops the chart with 2,53,785 households followed by Jharkhand at 60,925, Chhattisgarh at 3,519 and Assam at 2,193 as on August 31, 2020.

As per the reply, as many as 2,62,84,350 families were provided electricity connection under the Saubhagya scheme. The minister told the House that all the states had declared on Saubhagya portal that all the willing un-electrified households had been electrified as on March 31, 2019, except 18,734 households in LWE (left wing extremist) affected areas of Chhattisgarh.

Subsequently, the minister said that seven states reported 19.09 lakh un-electrified households which were un-willing earlier, but later willing to get electricity connection, identified before March 31, 2019. “States have been asked to electrify these households under Saubhagya. Out of these, 15.65 lakh households have been electrified up to August 31, 2020,” he added. The government had launched Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana – Saubhagya in October 2017 with an outlay of Rs 16,320 crore with the aim to achieve universal household electrification by providing last mile connectivity and electricity connections to all households in rural and all poor households in urban areas across the country.