GUWAHATI: Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal on Tuesday ceremonially launched Saubhagya (Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojna) at a programme held at Sonaram Higher Secondary School field in the city. The chief minister said that with the launch of this scheme electricity for all would be a reality in the state where remotest of villages would be electrified.
Saying that Prime Minister, Narendra Modi has launched various schemes for uplifting underprivileged sections of the society and for enabling them to live a life of dignity, Sonowal stated that Saubhagya has also been launched to give every citizen the access to electricity which is one of the basic necessities of modern living. No village or urban area would be left out of the reach of electricity, he said.
Notably, Saubhagya sceheme, which was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on 25th September 2017, will provide electricity connections to all households even in remotes of villages by 31st December, 2018 and cover 20.40 lakh remaining villages out of the ambit of electricity. Households in inaccessible and hard to reach areas would be provided solar power packs (with battery bank) along with LED lights, fan, power plug etc., with 5-year free maintenance support. 18.7 lakh rural households and 1.7 lakh households in urban areas would be covered under this scheme. Beneficiaries of the scheme would be divided into 3 categories and those who fulfil the criteria for eligibility would be selected automatically for Saubhagya scheme.
“Prime Minister Modi’s Sabka sath sabka vikash motto is being followed by our government in all earnestness and we must ensure that public money meant for developmental works is not siphoned off by corrupt people. The people of the state must take it as their responsibility to ensure proper implementation of government schemes by keeping a strict watch” the chief minister said.
Calling on the 14,000 employees of power department of the state to dedicate themselves to the cause of the society with renewed vigour, Sonowal said the state’s progress can only happen if there is electricity in every corner of the state. He also said that Advantage Assam: Global Investors’ Summit is being organised in the state to highlight the inherent potential of the state in front of the investors from across the world and all sectors of the state must be developed at per with best in the country.
The chief minister also launched “Sanjog” mobile app in the programme which can be used to apply for new power connections. After registration in the app, APDCL would conduct camps in villages and panchayat level and approach the households for providing power connections.
Union Minister of State in charge of Power Department R.K Singh said that Assam is making good progress in power sector and he expressed confidence that the state would be able to achieve the target of electrifying each and every village by 31st December, 2018. He also informed that the central government is bringing a legislation which would make it mandatory for the power companies to provide uninterrupted power supply 24 hours a day and they would also have to pay penalty for load-shedding. The nation has become power surplus now and the whole country is brought under a single grid which would result in efficient power transmission and electrification of all parts of the country, he added.