Electrify 9.35 lakh families in mission mode Par Panel to Power Min

New Delhi, Dec 10 (PTI) A Parliamentary panel has asked the power ministry to complete electrification of 9,35,688 households across the country in a mission mode under Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (SAUBHAGYA) and other schemes.
     Under Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) and thereafter, under SAUBHAGYA, all states declared all inhabited un-electrified census villages across the country, as electrified on April 28, 2018 and all willing households who sought electricity connection, as electrified on March 31, 2019, the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Energy said in its report tabled in Parliament on Tuesday.
     According to the report, while a total of 18,374 villages were electrified under DDUGJY, a total of 2.86 crore households were electrified under the aegis of SAUBHAGYA.
     The committee lauded that the Centre's commitment to supporting all states for electrification of households.
     Thus, electrification work of 8,00,552 left out households under SAUBHAGYA; 1,29,269 identified Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group households under PM-JANMAN; 2,837 households in remote, hilly and border areas identified under Vibrant Village Program and 3,030 households under Dharti Aaba Janjatiya Gram Utkarsh Abhiyan (DAJGUA), have been taken up under Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme, it noted.
     Applauding the ministry for taking up the work for electrification of 9,35,688 households in various states, the committee recommended that their electrification should be done on mission mode so that they get electrified by the sun-set date of Revamped Distribution Sector Scheme i.e. March 31, 2026.
     The panel also noted that Aggregate Technical & Commercial (AT&C) losses have increased in Jharkhand, Maharashtra, Mizoram and Telangana during the last 5 years.
     Further, it noted that Arunachal Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat (Uttar Gujarat Vij Company Limited and Paschim Gujarat Vij Company Ltd), Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh (MPWest), Maharashtra (MSEDCL), Mizoram, Nagaland, Puducherry, Sikkim and Tripura have reduced their losses, but were not able to meet the targets for AT&C losses in the year 2023.
     The panel feels that increase in AT&C losses in states like Maharashtra and Telangana is a cause for concern as this trend may hamper the reduction of AT&C losses to the level of 12-15 per cent by the stipulated date.
     It therefore recommended that the ministry should take this matter up with the concerned states/DISCOMs so as to avoid further deterioration of the condition related to AT&C losses in these states.
     Recognizing the need to provide a push to the hydro sector, the committee recommended that the ministry should consider the feasibility of creation of such Single Window Cell in order to expedite the development of hydroelectric projects in the country.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)