Lok Sabha Question No. 3710 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-03-23
Subject: Universal Access to Energy
Ministry: POWER
Asked by: Midhun Reddy

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF POWER LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3710

## ANSWERED ON 23.03.2023

## UNIVERSAL ACCESS TO ENERGY

3710. SHRI P.V. MIDHUN REDDY:

Will the Minister of POWER

be pleased to state:

- (a) the  details  of  the  measures  being  taken  to  ensure  universal  access  to  energy;
- (b) the details of progress made in this respect, State/UT-wise;
- (c) the details of the challenges faced in this respect thereof; and
- (d) the details of the proposed measures taken/to be taken in this regard?

## A N S W E R

THE MINISTER OF POWER AND NEW & RENEWABLE ENERGY

(SHRI R.K. SINGH)

(a) & (b) : The  Government  of  India  launched  Pradhan  Mantri  Sahaj  Bijli  Har  Ghar Yojana  -  SAUBHAGYA  in  October,  2017  with  the  objective  of  achieving  universal household  electrification,  by  providing  electricity  connections  to  all  un-electrified households in rural areas and all poor households in urban areas in the country. Under the aegis of SAUBHAGYA, as on 31.03.2019, all households were reported electrified by the States, except 18,734 households in Left Wing Extremists (LWE) affected areas of Chhattisgarh.  Subsequently,  seven  States  namely  Assam,  Chhattisgarh,  Jharkhand, Karnataka, Manipur, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh had reported that around 19.09 lakh un-electrified households, identified before 31.03.2019, which were unwilling earlier but later expressed willingness to get electricity connection. This was also sanctioned. All these  seven  States  had  reported  100%  household  electrification  as  on  31.03.2021.  A total of 2.817 crore households were electrified since the launch of SAUBHAGYA, up to 31.03.2021.

Thereafter, some States reported that 11.84 lakh households remained to be  electrified,  against  which,  States  reported  electrification  of  4.43  lakh  households. Accordingly, a total 2.86 crore households have been electrified. State-wise details are furnished at Annexure. This Scheme stands closed on 31.03.2022.

While  fresh  arising  of  new  households  is  a  continuous  process  and electrification of such households is expected to be taken care of by the Distribution Utilities,  the  Government of  India stands  committed to help the States to electrify all the  households  which  existed  when  Saubhagya  was  sanctioned.  In  this  respect,  the Government  of  India  recently  issued  Guidelines  for  their  electrification  under  the Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme (RDSS) and the States have been advised to pose their DPRs to the Ministry of Power in this regard.

- (c) : The details of challenges faced under SAUBHAGYA Scheme are as under:
- (i) Households scattered in inaccessible & remote areas
- (ii) Difficult & Hilly terrains, inclement weather, riverine/marshy/snow bound areas required to be covered.
- (iii) Transportation of material by head loading, helicopters, bamboo bridges, rafts, boats, etc.
- (iv) Poor/inadequate power infrastructure
- (v) Located in Left Wing Extremism affected areas
- (vi) Forest areas - requiring clearance
- (vii) Non-availability of materials (like Poles, Distribution Transformers, Meters, etc.) at local level
- (viii)   Various Right of Way issues.
- (d) : The measures taken to meet the challenges in this regard are as under:
- i. Launching of SAUBHAGYA Strategy Formulation workshops in the States to give impetus to quick start the programme.
- ii. Establishing camps in villages/ cluster of villages wherein public representatives (MPs,  MLAs,  Gram  Pradhan)  helped  in  creating    awareness  amongst  public  at large.
- iii. Infrastructure  support  to  the  tune  of  Rs.  14,270  crore  for  electrification  of households under SAUBHAGYA and adequate funding provided to the States by Government of India.
- iv. 24x7  communication  through    'One  nation  One  number',  toll-free  helplines  and special  campaign  'SAUBHAGYA  Rath'  helped  create  awareness  along  with various  media options viz. print media, radio, television, social media (Facebook, twitter, etc.).
- v. Flexibility  to  States  in  mode  of  implementation  (Departmental/  Turnkey/  Semiturnkey).
- vi. A  comprehensive  web  portal  'saubhagya.gov.in'  was  developed  and  DISCOMs were provided access   to update the  progress on the portal to enable  day-to-day monitoring.
- vii.
- viii.
- ix.
- xi. Distribution utilities.
- Coordination  with  Indian  Electrical  &  Electronics  Manufacturers'  Association (IEEMA) to ensure speedy supply of products and equipment. Facilitated      availability  of  adequate  skilled  manpower  with  requisite  skill, through coordination with the Ministry of Skill Development and Entrepreneurship (MSDE) for effective  training of the workforce. More than 350 Engineers viz. Gram Vidyut Abhiyantas (GVAs) were deployed in the monitoring of projects under rural electrification schemes. x. Helicopters and support from the Indian Railways were instrumental in transporting essential goods to the unexplored and in accessible  geographies. Monitoring  &  Reviews  at  all  levels  of  the  Government  Centre  States  and

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## ANNEXURE REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) & (b) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3710 ANSWERED IN THE LOK SABHA ON 23.03.2023

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State-wise electrification of households since launch of SAUBHAGYA Scheme / Additional Sanctions and Achievement under DDUGJY (status as on 31.03.2022)

| Sl. No.   | Name of the         | ORIGINAL HOUSEHOLDS SANCTIONED UNDER SAUBHAGYA             | ADDITIONAL HOUSEHOLDS SANCTIONED UNDER SAUBHAGYA           | ADDITIONAL HOUSEHOLDS SANCTIONED UNDER SAUBHAGYA   | ADDITIONAL HOUSEHOLDS SANCTIONED UNDER DDUGJY   | ADDITIONAL HOUSEHOLDS SANCTIONED UNDER DDUGJY      | Grand Total   |
|-----------|---------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|-------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------|---------------|
| Sl. No.   | States/UTs          | No of households electrified from 11.10.2017 to 31.03.2019 | No of households electrified from 01.04.2019 to 31.03.2021 | Total households electrified as on 31.03.2021      | Additional households Sanctioned                | Additional households electrified as on 31.03.2022 | Grand Total   |
| 1         | 2                   | 3                                                          | 4                                                          | 5=3+4                                              | 6                                               | 7                                                  | 8=5+7         |
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh*     | 1,81,930                                                   | 0                                                          | 1,81,930                                           |                                                 |                                                    | 1,81,930      |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh   | 47,089                                                     | 0                                                          | 47,089                                             | 7859                                            | 0                                                  | 47,089        |
| 3         | Assam               | 17,45,149                                                  | 2,00,000                                                   | 19,45,149                                          | 480249                                          | 381507                                             | 23,26,656     |
| 4         | Bihar               | 32,59,041                                                  | 0                                                          | 32,59,041                                          |                                                 |                                                    | 32,59,041     |
| 5         | Chhattisgarh        | 7,49,397                                                   | 40,394                                                     | 7,89,791                                           | 21981                                           | 2577                                               | 7,92,368      |
| 6         | Gujarat*            | 41,317                                                     | 0                                                          | 41,317                                             |                                                 |                                                    | 41,317        |
| 7         | Haryana             | 54,681                                                     | 0                                                          | 54,681                                             |                                                 |                                                    | 54,681        |
| 8         | Himachal Pradesh    | 12,891                                                     | 0                                                          | 12,891                                             |                                                 |                                                    | 12,891        |
| 9         | Jammu & Kashmir     | 3,77,045                                                   | 0                                                          | 3,77,045                                           |                                                 |                                                    | 3,77,045      |
| 10        | Jharkhand           | 15,30,708                                                  | 2,00,000                                                   | 17,30,708                                          |                                                 |                                                    | 17,30,708     |
| 11        | Karnataka           | 3,56,974                                                   | 26,824                                                     | 3,83,798                                           |                                                 |                                                    | 3,83,798      |
| 12        | Ladakh              | 10,456                                                     | 0                                                          | 10,456                                             |                                                 |                                                    | 10,456        |
| 13        | Madhya Pradesh      | 19,84,264                                                  | 0                                                          | 19,84,264                                          | 99722                                           | 0                                                  | 19,84,264     |
| 14        | Maharashtra Manipur | 15,17,922                                                  | 0                                                          | 15,17,922                                          |                                                 |                                                    | 15,17,922     |
| 15        |                     | 1,02,748                                                   | 5,367                                                      | 1,08,115                                           | 21135                                           | 0                                                  | 1,08,115      |
| 16        | Meghalaya           | 1,99,839                                                   | 0                                                          | 1,99,839                                           | 420                                             | 401                                                | 2,00,240      |
| 17        | Mizoram             | 27,970                                                     | 0                                                          | 27,970                                             |                                                 |                                                    | 27,970        |
| 18        | Nagaland            | 1,32,507                                                   | 0                                                          | 1,32,507                                           | 7009                                            | 7009                                               | 1,39,516      |
| 19        | Odisha              | 24,52,444                                                  | 0                                                          | 24,52,444                                          |                                                 |                                                    | 24,52,444     |
| 20        | Puducherry*         | 912                                                        | 0                                                          | 912                                                |                                                 |                                                    | 912           |
| 21        | Punjab              | 3,477                                                      | 0                                                          | 3,477                                              |                                                 |                                                    | 3,477         |
| 22        | Rajasthan (Jaipur)  | 18,62,736                                                  | 2,12,786                                                   | 20,75,522                                          | 210843                                          | 52206                                              | 21,27,728     |
| 23        | Sikkim              | 14,900                                                     | 0                                                          | 14,900                                             |                                                 |                                                    | 14,900        |
| 24        | Tamil Nadu*         | 2,170                                                      | 0                                                          | 2,170                                              |                                                 |                                                    | 2,170         |
| 25        | Telangana           | 5,15,084                                                   | 0                                                          | 5,15,084                                           |                                                 |                                                    | 5,15,084      |
| 26        | Tripura             | 1,39,090                                                   | 0                                                          | 1,39,090                                           |                                                 |                                                    | 1,39,090      |
| 27        | Uttar Pradesh       | 79,80,568                                                  | 12,00,003                                                  | 91,80,571                                          | 334652                                          | 0                                                  | 91,80,571     |
| 28        | Uttarakhand         | 2,48,751                                                   | 0                                                          | 2,48,751                                           |                                                 |                                                    | 2,48,751      |
| 29        | West Bengal         | 7,32,290                                                   | 0                                                          | 7,32,290                                           |                                                 |                                                    | 7,32,290      |
|           | Total               | 2,62,84,350                                                | 18,85,374                                                  | 2,81,69,724                                        | 11,83,870                                       | 4,43,700                                           | 2,86,13,424   |

*Electrified prior to SAUBHAGYA and not funded under SAUBHAGYA

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