Notes
1. 19
projects in Madhya Pradesh, 3 in Maharashtra, 24 in Rajasthan, 4 in
Karnataka, 53 in Uttaranchal and 153 in UP have been cancelled by the state
governments as they were taken up for grid electrification.
2.
Out of the villages taken up for electrification through renewable
energy, 296 are being/have been covered through distributed generation
technologies of biomass gasification and small hydro. Balance 6431 are
being/have been covered through solar photovoltaic technologies.
New and Renewable
Energy Technologies For Electrification Of Villages
In many situations, particularly in very small and very remote
villages, no other renewable energy option except SPV homelighting systems may
prove to be feasible. The Rural Electrification Policy has now laid down that in
“villages/habitations
where grid connectivity would not be feasible or not cost effective, off-grid
solutions based on stand-alone systems may be taken up for supply of
electricity. Where these also are
not feasible and if only alternative is to use isolated lighting technologies
like solar photovoltaic, these may be adopted. However, such remote villages may not be designated as electrified”.
A majority of
remote census villages taken up for electrification under the programme are
provided with SPV home lighting systems (about 95%). While, before 2004-05, support was being provided for SPV homelighting
systems of upto 4 lights each, after 2005 it has been restricted to systems of
2 lights each. BPL households are
provided single light systems with 100% subsidy. The solar home lighting systems
for two lights are designed to provide around 0.1 kWh of energy per day
and cost Rs.13000-15000 per system per household. Some villages have also been electrified
with distributed SPV power plants, biomass gasification systems and small
hydro systems. The small
hydro option has been used successfully for electrification of remote villages
mainly in the states of Uttarakhand, Arunachal Pradesh and Himachal Pradesh.
The Ministry aims to provide grid quality electricity
in all the villages taken up by it for electrification through New and
Renewable Energy Sources. However,
since the actual programme implementation is being carried out through state
governments, the Ministry accepts the proposals for use of a particular
technology, as submitted by the state implementing agencies.
Central
Financial Assistance for the projects
The Ministry
provides a subsidy of upto 90% of the costs of various renewable energy
devices/systems subject to pre-specified maximum amounts.
In addition, many other promotional supports and also a substantial
amount of service charges are provided to the state implementing agencies.
The maximum amounts of CFAs for different technology options are given
in Table-2.
In
line with the provisions under Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana, for
BPL households, a one light connection will be provided with 100% cost support
from the Ministry, subject to pre-specified maximum amounts.
During 2005-06, the Government
announced the National Electricity Policy - 2005 and the Rajiv Gandhi Gramin
Vidyutikaran Yojana both of which had a significant impact on rural
electrification programmes including the Remote Village Electrification
Programme of the Ministry. The Remote Village Electrification Programme was
thus suitably modified to align it with these two policy statements.
During 2006-07, the Government also notified the Rural Electrification
Policies, which lay down the broad framework for rural electrification
programmes in the country. The RVE Programme has also been suitably adapted with these
policies. Main extracts from the
Policy are given below.
Relevant
extracts from the National Rural Electrification Policies, 2006
Goals include provision of access to electricity to all
households by the year 2009, quality and reliable power supply at reasonable
rates, and minimum lifeline consumption of 1 unit/household/day as a merit
good by year 2012.
For
villages/habitations where grid connectivity would not be feasible or
not cost effective, off-grid solutions based on stand-alone systems may
be taken up for supply of electricity. Where these also are not feasible and if only alternative is to
use isolated lighting technologies like solar photovoltaic, these may be
adopted. However, such
remote villages may not be designated as electrified.
State
government should, within 6 months, prepare and notify a rural
electrification plan which should map and detail the electrification
delivery mechanism. The
plan may be linked to and integrated with district development plans.
The plan should also be intimated to the appropriate
commission.
Gram
panchayat shall issue the first certificate at the time of the village
becoming eligible for declaration as electrified. Subsequently, the Gram Panchayat shall certify and confirm the
electrified status of the village as on 31st March each year.
The
state government should set up a committee at the district level within
3 months, under the chairmanship of chairperson of the Zila Panchayat
and with representations from district level agencies, consumer
associations, and important stakeholders with adequate representation of
women.
The
district committee would coordinate and review the extension of
electrification in the district and consumer satisfaction, etc.
Panchayat
Raj institutions would have a supervisory/advisory role.
Institutional
arrangements for backup services and technical support to systems based
on non-conventional sources of energy will have to be created by the
state government.
Identification
of Remote Villages and Hamlets
The
task of identification of remote, unelectrified census villages and hamlets of
electrified villages has been entrusted to the Rural Electrification
Corporation (REC), which is the apex implementing organization for the Rajiv
Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana.
REC has so far identified around 9000 remote villages and hamlets in 24
states. The state-wise details of
remote villages and hamlets in different states are given in Table-3.
Table3- List
of the remote unelectrified census villages / hamlets as verified by
Rural
Electrification Corporation (REC) (as on 31.07.07)
|
S. No.
|
State
|
Number of villages / hamlets verified by Rural
Electrification Corporation |
|
|
|
Villages
|
Hamlets
|
|
1.
|
Karnataka
|
23
|
150
|
|
2.
|
Madhya Pradesh
|
411
|
|
|
3.
|
Assam
|
2139
|
|
|
4.
|
Maharashtra
|
257
|
|
|
5.
|
Meghalaya
|
158
|
|
|
6.
|
Arunachal Pradesh
|
145
|
|
|
7.
|
Himachal Pradesh
|
1
|
|
|
8.
|
Rajasthan
|
417
|
|
|
9.
|
Manipur
|
57
|
|
|
10.
|
West Bengal
|
88
|
|
|
11.
|
Gujarat
|
49
|
|
|
12.
|
Orissa
|
1018
|
|
|
13.
|
Jharkhand
|
3113
|
|
|
14.
|
Chhatisgarh
|
106
|
|
|
15.
|
Uttaranchal
|
150
|
29
|
|
16.
|
Uttar Pradesh
|
45
|
|
|
17.
|
Tamil Nadu
|
0
|
73
|
|
18.
|
Nagaland
|
03
|
|
|
19.
|
Jammu & Kashmir
|
29
|
|
|
20.
|
Haryana
|
0
|
149
|
|
21.
|
Kerala
|
0
|
73
|
|
22.
|
Bihar
|
72
|
|
|
23.
|
Andhra Pradesh
|
0
|
112
|
|
24.
|
Tripura
|
|
208
|
|
|
TOTAL
|
8281
|
794
|
|
|
Grand
Total
|
9075
|
Note:
Out of the above, the Government of Jharkhand has informed that it would
like to electrify around 2700 villages out of REC confirmed remote villages,
through grid electrification. Government of Orissa also has also not yet
indicated its preparedness for covering around 600 out of the REC confirmed
villages through renewable energy.
Implementation/Guidelines for the Remote Village Electrification Programme
-
Setting up of a Coordination
Panel for the Programme – To
enable smooth implementation, without duplication of efforts among Central
Government Ministries, a Coordination Panel has been set up under the
Chairmanship of Secretary, MNRE. The
Panel comprises of members from Ministry of Power, Rural Electrification
Corporation and Planning Commission. The
interactions of the Panel have helped in laying down a coordinated approach
towards implementation of the Programme.
-
The Administrative Approval
and the guidelines for implementation
– The Administrative Approval for the Programme has been issued along with a
set of guidelines for project implementation. The document reflects the current approach of the Ministry towards
formulation and implementation of the projects.
-
Training, Awareness and
Orientation Programmes – Training
and awareness of different stakeholders such as the concerned officials, the
beneficiaries, the elected representatives, NGOs, etc. are extremely important
for success of this village based programme. The Ministry has thus sponsored a number of training and awareness
programmes in different states. The
target audience includes DRDA officials, elected village representatives,
beneficiaries, field level SEB officials, etc.
-
MoU with the state governments
- With a view
to clearly underscore respective roles and responsibilities of the state
governments and the MNRE, it was decided to enter into a Memorandum of
Understanding with each of the state governments intending to implement the
RVE Programme. While sanctioning
the MNRE support, preference will be given to states who have signed the MoU
with the Ministry. So far, 9
states have signed the MoU.
Sanctioning
of Remote Village Electrification projects
A
certificate from the Rural Electrification Corporation, which is also the
nodal agency for implementation of the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran
Yojana, to the effect that the villages/hamlets proposed to be covered are
‘remote’ is a pre-requisite for consideration of proposals under the
Ministry’s Programme. The
lists of remote villages identified by state governments, which they propose
to take up for electrification through New and Renewable Energy Sources are
referred to REC by Ministry for confirmation on this aspect. Subsequently, after identification of remoteness of villages by REC,
states are advised to submit proposals for support to the Ministry as per the
provisions of the scheme. Approvals
of the state government for submitting the proposals is also required in the
prescribed format before sanction. Explicit willingness of villagers that the
systems being proposed are acceptable to them are also desirable. The detailed
requirements in this regard may be obtained from the Administrative Approval
of the Programme.
Submission
of Proposals