Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana (Saubhagya) was launched in Manipur today by Minister of State (IC) for Power and New and Renewable Energy R K Singh and Manipur Chief Minister N Biren Singh, a power ministry statement said.
A total of approximately 1.75 lakh households (1.62 lakh rural and 0.13 lakh urban) of Manipur are proposed to be included under the scheme.
Addressing the media at the function, Singh said Manipur is the fastest reforming state in the power sector in the country and the state government is performing well in terms of electricity segment.
Now the government would come to people's doorsteps to provide power connection. This is such a scheme where the poorest of the poor can afford electricity in their homes.
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The Union minister also assured that the Centre would provide the required financial assistance for strengthening and improvement of infrastructure in the power sector in Manipur.
On the occasion, N Biren Singh said that under the dynamic leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the Saubhagya Scheme would transform the lives, especially of poorest of the poor, by providing power supply to every household of the country.
It may be noted that Saubhagya is a scheme launched to achieve universal household electrification in all parts of the country at a cost of Rs 16,320 crore including Gross Budgetary Support (GBS) of Rs 12,320 crore from the Centre.
All states and union territories of the country are required to complete household electrification in their respective jurisdiction by March 31, 2019.
Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd (REC) has been appointed as nodal agency for coordinating the implementation of the scheme. The prospective beneficiary households for free electricity connections under the scheme will be identified using Socio Economic and Caste Census (SECC), 2011 data.
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