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Government to go ahead with rural electrification
New Delhi, Jan 31: Power Minister Anant Geete has re-iterated that the government was committed towards rural electrification by 2007 and that the government would help state electricity boards towards achieving the goal.
New Delhi, Jan 31: Power Minister Anant Geete has re-iterated that the government was committed towards rural electrification by 2007 and that the government would help state electricity boards towards achieving the goal.
Geete said that the broad objectives of the national rural electrification policies would be to empower the rural population to choose and decide on their power supply options. The minister said, the Electricity Act 2003, provides for differential treatment for rural areas and service providers for setting up new projects or extending existing infrastructure for composite schemes of generation and distribution. He said these would be exempted from the licensing and licensee related obligations of the act, which would enable them to offer alternate electricity delivery mechanisms in addition to the incumbent licensees.
Delivering the inaugural address at a national workshop n rural electrification policies, being jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the power ministry here, Geete said that rural electrification was viewed as a prime mover for rural development.
Minister of State for Power Jayawanti Mehta said that during the last five years, there had been an increase of 25.8 per cent in power generation despite the many challenges plaguing the power sector.
Power Secretary R V Shahi said rural electrification is being mired in problems. He said that almost 60 per cent of households do not have access to electricity and there are states like UP and Bihar, where almost 80-90 per cent of households do not have access to electricity, which he said was a matter of grave concern.
Bureau Report
Geete said that the broad objectives of the national rural electrification policies would be to empower the rural population to choose and decide on their power supply options. The minister said, the Electricity Act 2003, provides for differential treatment for rural areas and service providers for setting up new projects or extending existing infrastructure for composite schemes of generation and distribution. He said these would be exempted from the licensing and licensee related obligations of the act, which would enable them to offer alternate electricity delivery mechanisms in addition to the incumbent licensees.
Delivering the inaugural address at a national workshop n rural electrification policies, being jointly organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and the power ministry here, Geete said that rural electrification was viewed as a prime mover for rural development.
Minister of State for Power Jayawanti Mehta said that during the last five years, there had been an increase of 25.8 per cent in power generation despite the many challenges plaguing the power sector.
Power Secretary R V Shahi said rural electrification is being mired in problems. He said that almost 60 per cent of households do not have access to electricity and there are states like UP and Bihar, where almost 80-90 per cent of households do not have access to electricity, which he said was a matter of grave concern.
Bureau Report