The flagship scheme of the Union Government Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojna “Saubhagya” envisages electrification of such households in rural and urban areas which have no electricity connections and in Jammu and Kashmir, the number of such households is 1.88 lakh. The deadline of electrification of such households fixed for December 31, 2018 is feared to be not met and, thus, results not achieved.
Delays and deferments, as is generally wont of the State Government, have crept in here also since procedural formalities have not been completed so far and the revised project report too has not been approved by the Monitoring Committee of Union Ministry of Power. Needless to add, the Ministry had directed all State Governments to furnish relevant data in respect of the households without electricity connection accompanied by Detailed Project Reports so that the required funds were kept at their disposal for electrification of such households. When directions were there to have the project completed in all respects by Dec.31, 2018, we find no reason as to why Jammu and Kashmir Government is found desperately racing against time to reach the deadline.
The state of affairs of managing critical issues like having a foolproof data of the number of un – electrified households appears to be in heck of a mess as the State Government worked out such figures to be around 44000 and conveyed the same to Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) Limited, which was appointed as nodal agency for activating the scheme throughout the country . Call it fantasy or imagination; the figures of 44000 were later proved to be so. An afterthought in the State Government again assumed the figures could be more and only then, it was felt to carry out a detailed exercise of finding out the actual number.
It looks prosaic if not increasingly astonishing, that with a vast work force in the administrative structure available with the government, it should be found struggling to know how many un- electrified households were in the State. What should have been done at the first instance was proposed to be done when it was quite late and to its surprise, the figure was found to be more than four times as much conjured earlier.
We are constrained to touch the Achilles’ heel of the State administration in critical matters like the one under reference. Why should not the State of Jammu and Kashmir aspire to have its data on critical issues updated and ready to be furnished at any moment especially evaluating its importance in the context of the atmosphere of economic development and progress of the State like other States of the country? In the meantime, we hope by the end of December 31, 2018 the left out un- electrified households will be duly electrified.
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