Rural electrification work in nine out of 30 districts in Orissa has been sluggish mainly on account of delay in work execution by the contractors and the lack of coordination between the district collectors and the distribution companies.
The extent of rural electrification has so far been less than 80 per cent in the districts of Bolangir, Malkangiri, Sundergarh, Bargarh, Gajapati, Kandhamal, Koraput, Nabarangpur and Rayagada.
The state Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Monday, reviewed the progress of rural electrification in the state through a video conferencing with the district collectors.
The state energy minister Atanu Sabyasachi Nayak and Pradeep K Jena, secretary (energy) were present at the meeting.
“The slow pace of rural electrification in some of the districts is due to the delay in execution of work by the contractors. The Chief Minister has called for expediting work in these districts”, the state energy minister told reporters after the review meeting.
Meanwhile, the state energy department has claimed that it has achieved 100 per cent rural electrification in 15 districts.
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“Out of the 8358 villages targeted for electrification in 2007-08 and 2008-09 under the Biju Gram Jyoti Yojana (BGJY), 7640 villages have already been electrified and the remaining are set to be electrified by October this year. Around 75 pumpsets have been energized”, said Jena.
The state government has also rolled out the 'Biju Saharanchal Yojana' for electrification of the recognized slums in the urban areas of the state with a population of over 100, he added.
Similarly, under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutkaran Yojana (RGGVY), around 8000 out of 17,800 villages have been electrified and the remaining villages are expected to be electrified by December 2011.
The Orissa Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) will electrify around 1000 inaccessible villages of the state this year.