The electrification work has been completed in 13,404 un-electrified villages of Orissa while electricity connection has been provided to 23,83,339 BPL (Below Poverty Line) households under the Centrally sponsored Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) by the end of July.
This was revealed by Union minister of state for power K C Venugopal in response to a query by Rajya Sabha MP Renubala Pradhan recently. The minister said under RGGVY, there are 32 projects for Orissa which includes four projects in the 10th Plan and 28 projects in the 11th Plan, aiming to cover 17,895 un-electrified villages in Orissa and offering electricity connections to 31,85,863 BPL households.
“The remaining electrification works of sanctioned RGGVY projects are expected to be completed by 2012,” the minister assured in his written reply to Pradhan. The tentative project cost of implementation of RGGVY was pegged at Rs 3,593.75 crore, official sources said. The Maoist insurgency in some districts, lack of forest clearance and want of exemption in entry tax on materials imported for use in the RGVVY work are responsible for delay in execution of work under the programme by Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs), the minister said.
