New Delhi, May 28: In a move which could have a major implication for the ongoing rural electrification programme, government proposes to change the definition of the term to cover wider participation of village households.
"We propose to change the definition of village electrification to grant wider coverage to households", power secretary R V Shahi said at a seminar on power transmission and distribution here.
Under the current definition, a village is considered to be electrified even if one household has access to power while the new definition proposes to raise the threshold level to 10 or 15 per cent, Shahi said. This may lead to an increase in the number of households which remain unelectrified, he said adding current estimates place the number of unelectrified villages at around 80,000. Government has targeted to complete the task of rural electrification by 2007.
Shahi said government also proposes to bring out a set of policies for electricity sector as required by the new bill.
He said a Electricity Tariff Policy, National Electricity Policy, Rural Electricity Supply Policy and Rural Electrification Policy would be put in place within six months.
On the issue of T&D reforms, he said government has already put in place an accelerated power development and reforms programme.
Bureau Report