Saubhagya Yojana completes 3 years of implementation

New Delhi, Sept 26 : Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar ( PMSBHG ) - Saubhagya Yojana has complete 3 years on Sept 25, which was launched by PM Narendra Modi in 2017, on the birth anniversary of Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay. It was aimed at achieving electrification of all willing houses of rural as well as urban regions of the country. The project was initiated with an estimated cost of Rs 16,000 crore.

 

The scheme has provided free electricity connections to the eligible households. The households who are eligible for the scheme were decided based on the Socio - Economic and Caste Census of 2011. Households who weren't eligible as per this criteria and yet had applied for the scheme, were provided electricity connections at the cost of Rs. 500. Under the scheme, along with the electric connection, the households were provided with an LED light, a DC Power plug and free repair and maintenance of the meter for 5 years.

 

As per the data in hand by 2017, there were around 4 Crore un-electrified households in the country which were targeted to be provided with electricity connections by December 2018. Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) had been designated as the nodal agency for the Saubhagya scheme. The government has also launched a website saubhagya.gov.in to provide information about the scheme. Out of the estimated cost of Rs 16,000 crore, approximately Rs 14,000 crore was outlaid for rural households and the remaining Rs 2000 crores was for urban households.

 

According to the records, 91% of rural households have received electricity by June 2019 and around 2.5 crore people have been covered under this scheme. In 2018, Bihar has reported to have completed 100% electrification of the eligible households.