December deadline to electrify all households

PATNA: After succeeding in providing electricity connection to all villages and hamlets in the state before the stipulated deadline under the PM’s Saubhagya Yojana, the state energy department is now gearing up to complete the other milestone of the scheme – household electrification – by December this year.

Of the left out 1 crore rural households in the state, around 8 lakh households have been provided electricity connections so far. Energy department officials said the remaining households would be covered by December this year under the scheme to fulfil the criterion of 100% electricity coverage.

State energy minister Bijendra Prasad Yadav said two families living together in one house, but sharing two different kitchens, will also be counted as one under the norms of electrification scheme.

The rural electrification scheme of ministry of power is divided into two phases — taking electricity to all villages and then to every household. Senior officials in energy department said the state completed the first phase by taking electricity to all revenue villages in December last year and the work related to taking electricity connection to all identified hamlets was also completed on Monday. CM Nitish Kumar is likely to make the official announcement of completion of identified hamlet electrification work on May 4.