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Eight lakh state households living in dark : study
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- As per a recent survey, over eight lakh households continue to live in dark in rural Maharashtra.
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- Out of the total 8,04,390 homes surveyed under form 8 of the Maharashtra Village Panchayat (MVP)Act, majority are located in Nashik, Yavatmal, Buldhana, Solapur and Palghar.
- Of the 34 districts, seven have not provided the data, and covering just 20% of the total households surveyed would need 8,500 electric poles, the study revealed.
- Study revealed that less than 50% of the power connections under the persistence default (PD) category, which means they are either drawing power illegally or do not pay their charges at all.
- The average number of villages covered per year in last four years is 3,000.
- Experts claim the latest numbers show the total electrification is far from reality and can only be achieved only when the hamlets and the remaining (90%) households are covered.
- Under the current definition, a village can be called electrified if at least 10% of its households are provided with power connection and have a meter grid.
- Sources said synchronisation of data between departments — the power and the rural development — has been a cause of concern.
- Saubhagya and the Deendayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojana (DDUGJY) have adopted 2011 census as a base under which Maharashtra has 27,856 gram panchayats and 43,000 villages.
- However, experts said the numbers may have changed over the last seven years, and differ department to department.
- The crosschecking of data between departments has already thrown up the PD defaulters’ list, which has turned out to be near3.5 to 4 lakh.