RGGVY fails to light up Assam

By Our Staff Reporter

Guwahati, Dec 11: The ambitious Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yoja, that aims to create rural electricity infrastructure and provide household electrification, has come a cropper in Assam.

A House Committee has stumbled upon a slew of lacus in implementation that has plagued the scheme in the State.

The Project Implementing Agency has assigned the work to another agency that has slowed down the execution besides creating lot of disputes, the committee formed to examine the adequacy and efficacy of the scheme said in its report.

The committee also felt that deployment of only two officials in a district for implementation of the scheme has stymied the progress.

Moreover, the committee observed that selection process of beneficiaries was not proper even as there were anomalies in the billing.

During its study, the committee came across a large number of damaged and unprotected transformers, defunct meters and incomplete electrification systems.

Further, there were several faults in electricity wire connections. The public also apprised the committee that the shortage of power supply was because electricity was supplied beyond the capacity limit of the transformers.

The committee was also not satisfied with the existing arrangement for regular servicing and the revenue collection mechanism.

As a result of the lacus, the scheme has failed to achieve the targeted expansion as per Plan in rural areas, it said.

In its recommendations, the committee asked the government to appoint assistant engineers in every district and enhance the manpower for accurate meter reading and bill distribution.

It also suggested replacement of the damaged transformers, enhancement of the capacity of the transformers from 16 KV to 25 KV and a proper regulation for selection of beneficiaries.