JOIN USWith eye firmly on the Lok Sabha elections, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday launched a new scheme that aims to provide electricity to every household in the country by March 2019.
Unveiling the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Har Ghar Bijli Yojana (Saubhagya), Modi said more than Rs 16,000 crore will be spend to electrify every household that do not have access to power.
“More than four crore households spread across the country do not have access to electricity. This works out to be almost 20% of the total
households in the country,” Modi said launching the scheme here.
The BJP had promised to provide power for all in the election manifesto.
The total outlay for he Saubhagya scheme would be Rs 16,320 crore with Rs 14,025 crore being earmarked for electrifying rural households, while the balance Rs 2295 crore is for providing power to urban households.
For remote households located in inaccessible areas, the government proposes to provide solar power packs of 200 to 300 WP (Watts Peak) with the capacity to operate five LED lights, one fan, one power plug and includes five years of maintenance.
Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, Jharkhand, Jammu & Kashmir, Northeastern states and Rajasthan will be the thrust areas for the scheme.