GUWAHATI, May 27 � The Rajiv Gandhi Gramya Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) has raised the total number of households with power connections in the State to 28 lakh. Prior to the execution of the RGGVY, the total number of households with power connections in Assam was nine lakh.
But, poor surface communication, non-issuance of the forest clearance certificates, prolonged rainy season, lion�s share of the materials being procured from outside the State, interference of different sources during the BPL (below poverty line) connections, non-receipt of approvals for railway and National Highway crossings in time, among others, have emerged as the major hurdles in implementing the rural electrification programmes in the State.
According to informed sources, during the Tenth and Eleventh Plan periods, 23 districts of the State were covered under the RGGVY and of them, 16 districts and a part of the Kokrajhar district were covered by the Assam Power Distribution Company Ltd (APDCL) and the rest, along with a part of the Kokrajhar district, were covered by the Power Grid Corporation of India Ltd (PGCIL).
During the Tenth Plan period 97 per cent of the villages were electrified and houses of 90 per cent of the BPL people living in rural areas were electrified. The number of BPL households with power connections under the RGGVY today stands to be around 11 lakh. There are about eight lakh consumers connected with the power supply network due to the RGGVY expansion, sources said.
Significantly, Assam received an amount of Rs 213.69 crore during the Tenth Plan period against the total sum of Rs 13,308.80 crore sanctioned for the whole of the country under the RGGVY. In the Eleventh Plan, an amount of Rs 2,643.21 crore was sanctioned to Assam under the RGGVY against a total sum of Rs 30,442.38 crore for the country during the period.
During the Twelfth Plan period, an amount of Rs 1,619 crore was sanctioned to Assam for implementing the RGGVY in 16 districts. However, the sanction for the rest 11 districts is yet to be made.
During this plan period, an amount of Rs 23,397 crore was sanctioned for the whole of the country to implement the RGGVY schemes. There is also an amount of Rs 12,050 crore which is treated as a spilt over to the Thirteenth Plan period from the Twelfth Plan, sources said.
