By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The State Government is contemplating to introduce special schemes for electrification of small villages in the rural areas which are not presently covered under the Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY).
“We would try to introduce a special scheme for providing electricity to those small villages which are not covered under (RGGVY),” Power Minister AT Mondal said while replying to a question raised by Nongkrem legislator Ardent Miller Basaiawmoit during Question Hour on Friday.
Responding to a query, Mondal informed that majority of the small villages in the State cannot be covered under RGGVY since they do not fulfill many of the criteria laid down in the scheme.
“One of the main provisions of the RGGVY is that the villages should have minimum population of at least of 10,000. But many of the villages in our have only around 40 to 50 houses each,” Mondal said.
Earlier, Ardent M Basaiawmoit had expressed concern that many of the rural villages in the State were yet to be electrified.
Citing the case of a village in his constituency, he said that the village was yet to be provided with electricity despite so many years of Statehood.
“The people of the village do not have the capacity to purchase electric poles on their own. I went to meet MeECL officials to discuss the issue on several occasions but there has been no instance of a positive response from their side,” he said.