96% rural electrification completed in Odisha

Bhubaneswar, July 15: The Odisha government on Friday said that electrification work has been completed in around 96 per cent of villages in the state.

Energy Secretary R.K. Verma said of 47,677 villages in the state as per the 2011 census, around 45,236 villages constituting around 96 per cent have got power connectivity by June 30.

Taking a review meeting over rural electrification, Chief Secretary Aditya Prasad Padhi directed to cover the villages and hamlets in saturation mode and in a time-bound manner.

"Out of the balance 2,441 villages, 541 have been identified as uninhabited villages. Detailed action plan has been prepared to cover rest of the villages," said Verma.

The rural electrification work has been allocated to agencies like PGCIL, OPTCL, OREDA and NTPC.

In the meanwhile, preparatory steps like detail survey, preparation of the projects and bidding have been expedited.

Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (OREDA) has targeted to complete electrification of 275 villages by November this year. Out of this, 198 villages would be connected through micro-grid, and 76 would be covered through stand-alone solar projects, said an official.

Around 12,000 households would be benefited through this scheme.

The issues relating to forest and wildlife clearances were discussed and resolved in the meeting.

Notably, the state government has targeted to complete the electrification work by October-November, 2016. Access to electricity across the country has been targeted to be accomplished by March 2017 by Union government.

--IANS

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