That the government of India’s recent
initiatives in the power sector have started bearing fruit is undeniable(unquestioned,निर्विवाद). It is for this reason
that the ministry of power and renewable energy (RE) has been graded as one of
the most performing ministries at the Centre.
With the increasing availability of power
in the country resulting in a fall in prices and the gradual easing of
transmission constraints, it is clear that the milestone of 24×7 supply to all
parts of the country is around the corner. The big question, however, is to
ensure supply of power, even if it is not 24×7, to all and here, the objective
of “power for all” set by policymakers comes under scrutiny(examine,जाँच).
Both Central and state governments have
recently been applauding their rural electrification programme. As per
government of India estimates, out of 5,87,464 villages in the country, only
18,542 were not electrified at the beginning 2015-16. Of these 14,813 were to
be electrified through the grid while 3,639 were to be electrified off-grid
through RE sources. Till March 2016, 6,479 villages have already been
electrified and the rest are to be electrified by December.
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In the states, this figure stands between
95 to 100 per cent with the exceptions of Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. States
like Gujarat, Haryana, Kerala, Maharashtra, Punjab and Tamil Nadu are already
claiming 100 per cent electrification. Even states like Bihar, UP and Rajasthan
claim to be touching 99 per cent. The glaring issue in the light of these
figures is that by the Centre’s own admission, the number of households without
electricity in the country stands at a staggering seven to eight crore. In UP,
this figure is about two crore.
This contradiction(opposition,विरोधाभाश) comes from the
definition of electrified villages adopted by the government of India.
According to the rural electrification policy guidelines of 2004, a village is
classified as electrified if basic infrastructure like distribution transformers,
poles and distribution lines are provided in the locality, including one “Dalit
basti”, and if electricity is provided in one of the public places like
schools, panchayat offices, health centres etc and the number of households
electrified are 10 per cent of the total number of households in the village.
Prior to October1997, the definition was
that a village should be classified as electrified if electricity is being used
within its revenue area for any purpose. After October 1997 and till the
arrival of the present policy in 2004, a village was deemed to be electrified
if the electricity is used in any of the inhabited localities, within the
revenue boundary of the village, for any purpose. Thus, even though a village
may appear in the electrified list of villages, the actual number of households
getting power may be a mere 10 per cent.
The recent controversy over whether Nagla
Fatela village in Hathras district, now famous because of its mention by the
prime minister in his Independence Day speech, was electrified in 1985 or 2015,
is, in a way, an outcome of this bureaucratic juggling.
Further, as per the existing practices of
the electricity supply code applicable in different states, all households
within 40 metres of an electrical pole are supposed to take their connection
from the pole. This leaves a colossal(large,बड़ा) chunk of the population located within the
“electrified village” but outside this 40-metre limit. Coupled with this is the
problem that even in electrified hamlets, not all the households within 40
meters of the distribution lines/poles, take the connection.
Thus there is a situation where people
wanting to take connections cannot get it because they are situated more than
40 meters away and those within the area refuse to take connections and instead
use what is commonly known as “katia” to take clandestine(illegal,अवैध) connections. This
results in double the trouble: First, the revenue of discoms does not increase
and second, the dissatisfaction among the villagers grows.
If you look into the numbers as per the
census, there were 22.66 crore households in the country out of which only
16.58 crore had connections. Of these, 30-40 per cent are unmetered. Those with
unmetered connections get electricity at very cheap or subsidised rates as they
are billed either on a per connection basis or a per kilowatt basis. The
discoms, it is widely believed, use this as an opportunity to load most of the
stolen electricity into the consumption of this category. This is also the
cause for the poor financial health of several discoms.
A three-pronged strategy is required to
tackle this problem: One, people who fall within 40 metres of the poles should
be persuaded to take the connections. Apart from persuasion(encouragement,प्रोत्साहन), a legislative approach
could be to charge the households within the 40 meters an electricity cess, as
is done in the case of water provided by the municipal corporations.
Two, power department officials should
ensure that people within the 40 metres range take connections. One impediment(barrier,बाधा) to taking these connections is their cost,
which should be reduced and charged in instalments, especially from low-income
applicants. Three, an extensive assessment of how much investment is required
to let the electricity network go up to all the households. This investment
should be made on priority basis, as it would bring more revenue to the discoms
and it may reduce the tariff burden on existing consumers.
If the investment on expanding the network
to each household is too high, governments may consider encouraging private
micro-grids and mini-grids. In several states, off-grid micro and mini-grids
are a reality. In UP and Bihar, where the grid coverage is poor, 70-80 such
projects have already come up. Many other states are following suit.
Simultaneously, the Central government has
come up with a draft mini-grid policy which should give a big boost to them in
the country. The need is to have a coordinated plan to extend the existing grid
and to set up more mini-grids in remote villages. This would require not just
coordination but active collaboration among the states and the Centre. Only
this can turn the dream of “power for all” into a reality.
courtesy:indian express
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