Mangalore Electricity Supply Company plans to electrify over 2,000 villages under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana, Mescom Managing Director S. Vijayanarasimha has said. Speaking during the hearing organised by the Karnataka Electricity Regulatory Commission on Monday to record objections against Mescom's proposed increase in tariff, Mr. Vijayanarasimha said the scheme would be taken up in two phases. In the first phase, 2,230 villages comprising 79,680 rural households would be covered in Shimoga and Chikmaglur districts.
If approved, Phase II of the project covering Dakshina Kannada and Udupi districts would provide electricity to 41,733 households spread across 611 villages. Mescom has earmarked Rs. 15 crore for electrification of 300 hamlets from its own funds, Mr. Vijayanarasimha said.
Implementation of the Bachat Lamp Yojana – replacing incandescent bulbs with a maximum of four Compact Fluorescent Lamps per household – is set to take off as the tender has been awarded to a Bangalore-based firm called GCI power Private Limited.
He said that people across Mescom's jurisdiction could avail of the scheme except Mangalore. Mescom has installed energy efficient pumps at two 11kV feeders at Kabaka in Puttur sub-division and Manai in Udupi division. He said the base data was being established, without which the tender could not be called.
