At a time when Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s declaration on total electrification has kicked up a storm, a survey has shown over eight lakh households continue to live in dark in rural Maharashtra.
The study carried out in the first quarter of this year under the Maharashtra Village Panchayat Act, 1959, shows less than 50% of the power connections under the persistence default (PD) category, which means they are either drawing power illegally or do not pay their charges at all, officials said.
Of the total 8,04,390 homes surveyed under form 8 of the MVP Act, majority are located in Nashik, Yavatmal, Buldhana, Solapur and Palghar. Of the 34 districts, seven have not provided the data, and covering just 20% of the total households surveyed would need 8,500 electric poles, the study revealed.
The Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (MEDA) and the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL), through conventional and non conventional methods, have covered 11,988 villages in nearly four years since the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) came to power. This is with an average of 3,000 villages a year.
The Congress has alleged that the Modi government’s electrification average has been 4,800 villages per year, compared to 12,000 villages under the UPA between 2005 and 2014. Maharashtra has 43,000 villages.
Activists and experts claim the latest numbers show the total electrification is far from reality and can only be achieved only when the hamlets and the remaining (90%) households are covered. Under the current definition, a village can be called electrified if at least 10% of its households are provided with power connection and have a meter grid.
“Two years ago, the State government had said 19 lakh households were still without electricity. Now the same figure is pegged at eight lakh, which is questionable since so many households could not be covered in such a short period. The definition of electrification itself is questionable. Maharashtra and the country is long way from total electrification and mere advertising will not help,” Pratap Hogade, president of Maharashtra State Energy Consumers Association, said.
Officials said the objective behind the ₹16,320-crore Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya) and the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) will be achieved before the deadline set for December. The latest report of electrification under Saubhagya was received by the State government on April 27 from the MEDA offices in Nandurbar, Gadchiroli, Yavatmal, and Pune districts, where the remaining 45 villages were electrified by non-conventual methods: by providing solar kits. Under Saubhagya, the households are covered to provide the last-mile transmission and metering equipment. The DDUGJY ensures the grid reaches village centres and outposts.
Officials also said achieving the last-mile connectivity will be a challenge with expected supply cost burden on the State. Once the transmission grids have been provided up to the village entrance, 10% households electrified along with the same number of public structures under the DDUGJY, a solar power kit of five LED lights, fan, and a plug point will be provided to households in remote areas. “We are confident of meeting the deadline, but total electrification will only be done once all the households are covered,” a senior official said.
Sources said synchronisation of data between departments — the power and the rural development — has been a cause of concern. Saubhagya and the DDUGJY have adopted 2011 census as a base under which Maharashtra has 27,856 gram panchayats and 43,000 villages.
However, experts said the numbers may have changed over the last seven years, and differ department to department. The cross-checking of data between departments has already thrown up the PD defaulters’ list, which has turned out to be near 3.5 to 4 lakh. Officials said the concern remains around the census numbers. “We have informed the minister about the possible dichotomy in the data, both in households and villages,” a MEDA official said.
