Lok Sabha Question No. 2868 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-05
Subject: Saubhagya Scheme
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Kirit Premjibhai Solanki

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2868 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.12.2019

## SAUBHAGYA SCHEME

2868. DR. (PROF.) KIRIT PREMJIBHAI SOLANKI:

Will the Minister of POWER be pleased to state:

(a) the salient features of the Saubhagya Scheme and the current status of its implementation in the country;

(b) the number of beneficiary households covered under the scheme, State/UTwise;

(c) whether  the  scheme  includes  any  provisions  to  address  the  problem  of affordability of power and the inability of rural households to pay the electricity bills and if so, the details thereof;

(d) whether the scheme includes any provision to address the rampant use of illegal connections of electricity and if so, the details thereof; and

(e) the additional power that is expected to be required after the inclusion of households under this scheme and the steps being taken by the Government to meet the future power demand?

## A N S W E R

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) : Government  of  India  launched  Pradhan  Mantri  Sahaj  Bijli  Har  Ghar Yojana  -  Saubhagya,  with  an  outlay  of  Rs.16,320  crore  in  October,  2017.  The salient features of the scheme are as under:

(i) Last  mile  connectivity  and  electricity  connections  to  all  un-electrified households in rural areas and poor households in urban areas.

……….2.

- (ii) Solar  based  standalone  systems  for  un-electrified  households  located  in remote and inaccessible villages/habitations where grid extension is neither feasible nor cost effective.

All the States reported electrification of all willing households as on 31.03.2019, except few households in LWE affected Bastar region of Chhattisgarh. States reported electrification of 2.63 crore households since launch of scheme till  31.03.2019.  The  State/UT-wise  details  of  household  connection  provided  is given in Annexure.

- (c) : Under the scheme, free electricity  connection  is  provided  to  all  unelectrified poor households whereas for non-poor rural households an amount of Rs.500  would  be  recovered  by  the  DISCOMs/Power  Departments  from  the beneficiary  in  ten  equal  installments  in  subsequent  electricity  bills.    Electricity consumption bill is borne by the consumers. Determination of tariff is within the domain of the concerned State with the approval of appropriate regulator.
- (d) : Distribution of electricity lies in the domain of State/DISCOM and onus is  on  them to take action against illegal connection.  Section 135 of Electricity Act, 2003 has specific provisions for detection of theft and penalizing a consumer with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three years or with fine or with both.    Use  of  electricity  through  tampered  meters  and  use  of  electricity  for unauthorized purpose etc. are covered under the definition of theft under Section 135(1) (d) & (e) of Electricity Act, 2003.  Further, Section 153 of Electricity Act, 2003  provides  for  setting  up  Special  Courts  in  the  States  for  speedy  trial  of offences  related  to  theft  of  electricity  and  other  offences  related  to  theft  of electricity and other offence as referred in Sections 135 to 140 and Section 150 of Electricity Act, 2003.
- (e) : Adequate  installed  capacity  exists  in  the  country  to  meet  the demand.  The total installed capacity of the country stands at 356.100 GW as on 31.03.2019 with average peak demand of 177.022 GW.

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ANNEXURE ANNEXURE  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  &  (b)  OF  UNSTARRED

QUESTION NO.  2868 TO BE ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 05.12.2019. ***************

State-wise electrification of households as per Saubhagya portal during the period from 11.10.2017 to 31.03.2019.

| Sl. No.            | Name of the States        | Number of households electrified   |
|--------------------|---------------------------|------------------------------------|
| 1                  | Andhra Pradesh            | 1,81,930                           |
| 2                  | Arunachal Pradesh         | 47,089                             |
| 3 Assam            |                           | 17,45,149                          |
| 4                  | Bihar                     | 32,59,041                          |
| 5 Chhattisgarh     |                           | 7,49,397                           |
| 6 Gujarat          | 41,317                    |                                    |
| 7 Haryana          |                           | 54,681                             |
| 8 Himachal Pradesh | 12,891                    |                                    |
| 9                  | 3,87,501                  |                                    |
| 10                 | Jammu & Kashmir Jharkhand | 15,30,708                          |
| 11                 | Karnataka                 | 3,56,974                           |
| 12                 | Madhya Pradesh            | 19,84,264                          |
| 13                 | Maharashtra               | 15,17,922                          |
| 14 Manipur         |                           | 1,02,748                           |
| 15 Meghalaya       |                           | 1,99,839                           |
| 16 Mizoram         |                           | 27,970                             |
| 17                 | Nagaland                  | 1,32,507                           |
| 18                 | Odisha                    | 24,52,444                          |
| 19                 | Puducherry                | 912                                |
| 20 Punjab          |                           | 3,477                              |
| 21                 | Rajasthan                 | 18,62,736                          |
| 22 Sikkim          |                           | 14,900                             |
| 23 Tamil Nadu      | 2,170                     |                                    |
| 24                 | Telangana                 | 5,15,084                           |
| 25                 | Tripura                   | 1,39,090                           |
| 26                 | Uttar Pradesh             | 79,80,568                          |
| 27                 | Uttarakhand               | 2,48,751                           |
| 28                 | West Bengal               | 7,32,290                           |
| Total              |                           | 2,62,84,350                        |

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