Decks Cleared for Electrification in 4 Indian Districts

Decks have been cleared for the total electrification in four districts of Bihar. The contract for preparing supplementary detailed project report (DPR) under 11th Plan for rural electrification of Patna, Rohtas, Gaya and Banka districts has been awarded by the SouthBihar Power Distribution Company Limited (SBPDCL).

The project aims at providing free power connection to all leftover BPL households and add infrastructure for APL connections within two years. As many as 12,254 villages and hamlets would be benefited and about 11 lakh connection will be provided. Over Rs 1,512 crore would be spent on this project. Work in all these four districts would begin soon.

The decision was taken at a meeting on Saturday with the officials of the executor companies in which the CMD of Bihar State Power (Holding) Company Limited (BSPHCL) Sandip Paundrik and MD of SBPDCL Palka Sahni were also present.

The contract was awarded to M/s SPML Infra Limited for two districts – Patna and Gaya – at a cost of Rs 988.50 crore. For Rohtas, the contract was given to M/s ECI Engineering and Construction Company Limited at an estimated cost of Rs 276.26 crore. One M/s Techno Fab Engineering Limited would undertake the work in Banka at a cost of Rs 247.80 crore, said a senior official. The project envisages construction of new 33kv power substation (PSS), 11kv and LT lines. The installation of BPL connections and capacity augmentation of existing PSS are also included in the work.

The supplementary DPR project covers the sanctioned amount under Rajiv Gandhi Grameen Vidyutikaran Yojana (RGGVY) as per norms of Rural Electrification Corporation (REC) as well as the unsanctioned portion of DPR submitted by the state.

The unsanctioned state plan portion will be funded by Backward Region Grant Fund (special plan) to supplement the RGGVY portion to achieve full electrification of villages and tolas under the districts, said an official.

According to official sources, till date, only partial work has been done in different parts of the state under RGGVY. In order to achieve the target of full electrification, including all the BPL households, DPR has been nodded for 11 more districts.

Two more central agencies – PowerGrid Corporation of India Limited and National Hydro Power Corporation Limited –  have done substantial work in rural electrification work in several districts of Bihar.