Union Minister for Power and Coal, Piyush Goyal (centre) with Saurabh Patel, Gujarat energy minister (second from Left) during a meeting with state officials on Gujarat power model at Gandhinagar

Union Power Minister Piyush Goyal on Friday said he plans to replicate Gujarat’s flagship scheme of Jyoti Gram Yojana (JGY), which is aimed at providing 24-hour electricity to non-agriculture consumers in the State.

“We have interacted with the State Energy Minister Saurabhbhai Patel and his team and observed how Gujarat has progressed on the power front under the Jyoti Gram Yojana. My Ministry’s first work will be to replicate the Jyoti Gram Yojana of Gujarat in other States with necessary modifications,” said Goyal after a meeting with the State Energy Minister and officials in Gandhinagar.

Interestingly, in 2011 the Planning Commission had issued a draft accepting the Jyoti Gram Yojana as a flagship scheme for the 12th Plan (2012-17).

JGY, announced in 2003, was aimed at making available 3-phase quality power supply for 24-hours to all the villages and their hamlets for non-agricultural activities. The scheme provides for a separate electric feeder for domestic use. It also provides limited but quality supply of power to agriculture for about eight hours a day.

Over the years, JGY became the backbone of electricity supply in the State. Under the scheme, a parallel rural distribution network of 78,454 km (HT and LT lines) was laid covering the entire State. This separated agricultural consumers to facilitate load management and regulate agricultural consumption without affecting power supply to other consumers.

The scheme involved total expenditure of Rs. 1,290 crore, of which Rs. 1,110 crore was provided by the State Government, the rest was borne by the four discoms of the State.

Goyal, who was accompanied by Neerja Mathur, Chairperson, Central Electricity Authority (CEA), along with Devendra Chaudhary, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Power, also mentioned that the BJP’s election manifesto had stated that the party would focus on improving village-level infrastructure in terms of roads, potable water, education, health, supply chain, electricity broadband, job creation, security in rural areas and linkage to markets.
Gujarat’s Energy Minister and DJ Pandian, Additional Chief Secretary, showcased Gujarat’s success on the power front.