Mizoram villages yet to get power supply

Aizawl: Many villages in Mizoram continue to be in the dark despite the Centre’s claim that all Indian villages now have access to electricity.

According to officials of the power and electricity department, at least 13,854 families in villages have no access to electricity.

The department is making massive efforts to provide electricity to the families this year under the Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojana’s Saubhagya scheme.

The Saubhagya scheme was launched in Mizoram on January 17 this year to ensure the electrification of all households in the state.

Chief minister Lal Thanhawla, who launched the scheme here, had said the state government would implement it all over the state by December this year, though the Centre had set March 2019 as the deadline.
Altogether 85 per cent of the project cost of the Saubhagya scheme will be sanctioned by the Centre, while the Mizoram government will bear10 per cent. The remaining five per cent will be met by the state government through loans, which will be given as a grant if the state government successfully implements the scheme before the end of December.

A detailed project report with an estimate of Rs 87 crore was prepared for the scheme and submitted to the Centre officials said. Under this scheme, free electricity will be provided to BPL families, while non-BPL families could have power connections for Rs 500 each.

Power minister: Mizoram power and electricity minister R. Lalzirliana on Monday said the state government is making massive efforts to become a power-surplus state.

“Construction of two power projects, both in Champhai district, are under way,” Lalzirliana said during an awareness programme on the solar power policy of Mizoram and grid-connected solar rooftop systems here.

“More efforts will be made to generate solar energy under the Mizoram solar power policy,” he said.

He added that the government has to work hand in hand with its nodal agency, Zoram Energy Development Agency (ZEDA), for the implementation of the policy.

Source : telegraphindia