See through our eyes, not your ears.

Greenpeace calls rural electrification a failure

PATNA — Only 30 percent of rural households in the state have been electrified and the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojna (RGGVY) is a failure in Bihar, according to a report by Greenpeace India.

“Bihar’s per capita energy consumption, at 75 kWh (kilowatt per hour), is the lowest in India and far below the national average of 613 kWh,” the report, titled – Energy Injustice, said.

RGGVY is a centrally-sponsored programme launched in 2005 to provide electricity in rural areas. As per RGGVY norms, a village will be considered electrified if 10 percent households and some important structures like the panchayat building got electricity.

While 70-75 percent villages in Bihar are considered electrified, only 30 percent households in these villages have received electricity, said Rampati Kumar, an advisor of Greenpeace India.

The NGO has asked the state government to issue a white paper on how many households have been electrified in the state till date.

When contacted, state energy Minister Ramashray Prasad Singh declined to comment on the report.

However, RK Sharma, a member of the Bihar State Electricity Board (BSEB), raised concerns about the findings of the Greenpeace report. “The state’s power situation has improved in the last few years. The state has travelled a long way in ensuring energy security,” Sharma said.

Greenpeace prepared the report after conducting studies in five states in different regions – Orissa, Bihar, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. The report challenges the government’s energy model and recommends a decentralised energy mix as a solution to overcome social injustice and mitigate climate change.

- AGENCIES

3 Responses to “Greenpeace calls rural electrification a failure”

i fail to understand when laloo was in power each survey used to say that bihar is a failed state that anybody can uderstand. but what i fail to understand is that when nitish is in power some survey says something else and other says something else. either of them is telling a lie. this can only be possible either the survey publisher is helped by nitish to show a good face of bihar so that we can be fooled or laloo is paying to so that bihar is not growing. this means we are getting fooled so that we can vote by just facts which are not correct. this is real show going on and winner is nitish becs people are trusting him like god. i am not convinced with this approach.

Reply

amit singh Reply:
November 21st, 2009 at 4:18 pm

mr. ravi ,we need believe on any of this reports which do not have an credibility or is done by central government or highly reputed organization .
Also if we keep our eyes ,ear open and tend to know whats happening in our state we can know the reality and for this nobody else need to certify it ,so instead of thinking on this lines go and visit different parts of bihar and if not ask people from different part of bihar that whats happening there

Reply

ravi roy November 21st, 2009 12:09 pm

The main regions where electrification has still not reached is Purvanchal and Rural Bihar . UP and Bihar State govt should actively think about it and call private companies like Husk Power and other companies to electricfy Purvanchal and Bihar.

Jai Bihar !!

Reply

Lallan Tiwari November 21st, 2009 5:42 am

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