100% household electrification in 8 districts soon

PATNA: All households in Munger, Sheikhpura and Kishanganj districts have been provided with electricity connection under Har Ghar Bijli Lagatar scheme of the state government. The Bihar State Power Holding Company Limited (BSPHCL) is now set to cover every household in Nalanda, Bhojpur, Gopalganj, Supaul and Purnia districts under the scheme in the next ten days, energy department’s principal secretary-cum-chief managing director of BSPHCL Pratyaya Amrit said on Wednesday.

“We are focusing on the last phase of providing electricity connection to all households in the state by December. This phase is also broken into specific milestones and the first has eight districts, including Munger, Sheikhpura, Nalanda and Bhojpur of South Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (SBPDCL) and Gopalganj, Purnia, Kishanganj and Supaul of North Bihar Power Distribution Company Limited (NBPDCL) to be provided with 100% electrification by June-end. Munger has already become the first district to receive 100% electricity connections,” Pratyaya Amrit told this newspaper.

SBPDCL managing director R Lakshmanan said, “The overall target in the eight selected districts was to provide electricity connections to around 28 lakh households. In Nalanda, the expected connections were around 42,379, out of which 30,432 have been completed. Similarly, in Bhojpur and Gopalganj, out of 62,341 and 46,122, only around 15,000 and 4,000 connections are left, respectively. Various proactive measures are also being taken up to reach the remaining households.”

Lakshmanan further said, “The first phase target to electrify each and every revenue village (39,073) of Bihar by the end of 2017 was achieved well in time. The next phase target to provide electricity to all the tolas (1,06,249) of Bihar by April was again achieved. Now, the last leg of household electrification is being done and weekly camps are being organized at panchayat level to facilitate connections the same day. More than 6 lakh connections have been released in April and May in the state under this mode.”

One of the seven resolutions of chief minister Nitish Kumar is Mukhya Mantri Vidyut Sambandh Nishchay Yojana-Har Ghar Bijli Lagatar to provide electricity connections to all APL households in the state by December this year.

Courtesy: TNN