There is a big question mark over the impact of rural electrification programmes as many households in ‘electrified’ villages continue to live without power.
Over the last four years, the Narendra Modi government heavily hyped its rural electrification drive to score political brownie points with the Indian electorate.
It has largely been forced to eat its words. The power ministry has repeatedly changed the completion deadline – from 2016 to 2019 – for the scheme due to slow progress in implementation.
As a result, at last count, the government now hopes to meet the target of delivering power to every household by August 2022. In his address to the nation from the Red Fort on August 15, 2015, Prime Minister Modi had vowed to electrify every village in the country in 1,000 days – that is, by May 2018.
But later, the-then power minister Piyush Goyal said the target would be achieved by May 2017, a year ahead of the deadline outlined by Modi. Then again, talking to media on June 17, 2016 at the end of a two-day state power ministers’ conference in Panaji, Goyal said the government had advanced the target to electrify all villages by at least five months to the end of 2016.
But those claims have proved highly exaggerated, with the government now admitting that 100% rural electrification is achievable by 2019 only. Physical progress in implementation of rural electrification aside, there is still a big question mark over the potential impact of the programme. Read More
