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Rural Electrification

West Bengal State Electricity Distribution Company Limited being the Project Implementing Agency has been working on war footing to achieve 100% electrification in West Bengal. Out of 37,960 numbers villages in the State, Rural Electrification (RE) Department of WBSEDCL has already electrified all the 37,960 numbers of villages. In addition to service connections provided to rural households by different Customer Care Centers of WBSEDCL, electricity to 51,96,228 numbers rural BPL/APL households has been provided under following different completed RE Schemes:


Sl No. Name of RE Scheme Number of household energised
BPL APL**
1 DGHC (For Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Area) 25,637 No Scope
2 RGGVY (X Plan) 92,835 62,821
3 RGGVY (XI Plan) 20,98,556 No Scope
4 WBREP 7,42,141 No Scope
5 Sagar Island 250 30,800
6 RGGVY (XII Plan) 32,013 3,60,931
7 Electrification of Jhaukuthi village No Scope 1,087
8 DDUGJY (Less than hundred) 144 7556
9 Enclave Electrification No Scope 2,300
10 RGGVY (XI Plan) (Ph-II) being executed in Darjeeling Hilly Area by GTA 6,932 1,414
11 BRGF 2,76,243 13,97,211
12 Sundarban (SDB Funded) 571 34,191
13 DDUGJY in South 24 Parganas 7,259 15,336
Total 32,82,581 19,13,647


**APL service connection under above all schemes except BRGF scheme has been undertaken with the fund assistance of State Government.

Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council (DGHC) Scheme

This scheme was introduced for village electrification and providing service connection to rural BPL households exclusively in Darjeeling Hilly Area.


Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yogona ( RGGVY): X Plan & XI Plan

RGGVY Schemes are funded by the Govt. of India for village electrification and providing service connection to rural BPL households.

RGGVY (X Plan) covered North & South 24 Parganas, Birbhum, Burdwan, Uttar & Dakshin Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Darjeeling (Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad), Purba & Paschim Medinipur, Bankura and Purulia districts.

RGGVY (XI Plan) covered South 24 Parganas, Birbhum, Burdwan, Uttar & Dakshin Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Darjeeling (Siliguri Mahakuma Parishad), Howrah, Hooghly, Coochbehar, Nadia, Paschim Medinipur and Purulia districts.


West Bengal Rural Household Electrification Programme (WBREP) Scheme:

This scheme was funded by the Govt. of West Bengal and comprised of three different projects namely WBREP, WBREP (Supplementary) & WBREP (Balance).

WBREP scheme covered Purba Medinipur, Bankura, Jalpaiguri and North 24 Parganas districts.

WBREP (Supplementary) scheme covered all 18 districts.

WBREP (Balance) scheme covered Jalpaiguri & Coochbehar districts.


Sagar Island Scheme

For electrification of 42 villages in Sagar Island, one project was introduced with World Bank fund assistance of Rs. 32 Crore through the Integrated Coastal Zonal Management setup.


Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yogona ( RGGVY): XII Plan

RGGVY (XII Plan) Scheme of Govt. of India has been taken up for village electrification and providing service connection to rural BPL households in 7 (seven) non-backward districts of West Bengal viz. (i) Coochbehar, (ii) Darjeeling (SMP), (iii) Nadia, (iv) Bardhaman, (v) Howrah, (vi) Hooghly & (vii) North 24 Parganas. Work in all the 7 districts have been completed.


Electrification of Jhaukuthi village in Coochbehar District

Electrification of Jhaukuthi village in Coochbehar district is taken up through fund assistance of State Govt. Power Source for this village will be from the state of Assam. Infrastructure work and service connection to 1087 Hhs have been completed.


Rural electrification work with service connection to BPL/APL households in un-electrified/de-electrified habitations of population less than 100 in Coochbehar District under DDUGJY Scheme

Electrification of all 590 habitations of population less than hundred in Coochbehar District have been completed.


Electrification of 33 enclaves in Coochbehar District.

Electrification of 33 enclaves in Coochbehar district with service connection to 2,300 rural Hhs, with fund assistance of Central Govt. through District Magistrate, Coochbehar, have been completed.

Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yogona (RGGVY): (XI Plan) (Ph-II):

Under this scheme of Govt. of India, Gorkha Territorial Administration (GTA) being the Project Implementing Agency, has taken up the work of intensification of 188 numbers villages and providing service connection to BPL household exclusively in Darjeeling Hilly Area.

Backward Region Grant Fund (BRGF):

This scheme of Govt. of India has been taken in hand for village electrification and providing service connection to rural BPL & APL households in 12 (twelve) backward districts of West Bengal namely Jalpaiguri, Alipurduar, Uttar & Dakshin Dinajpur, Malda, Murshidabad, Birbhum, Bankura, Purulia, Purba & Paschim Medinipur and South 24 Parganas. All works have been completed.

Sundarban Development Board Fund (SDB):

Under this scheme, funded by Govt. of West Bengal, a total number of 84 mouzas is scheduled to be intensified in Gosaba, Patharpatima, Mathurapur II and Kultali Block. All works have been completed.

Deen Dayal Upadhyaya Gram Jyoti Yogona (DDUGJY):

This scheme has been launched to electrify 14 (fourteen) un-electrified and intensify 59 (fifty nine) partially electrified villages in Gosaba, Pathar Pratima & Namkhana Block in Sundarban area of South 24 Parganas district. Works in all the 14 un-electrified villages and 59 partially electrified villages have been completed.

New 33/11 KV substations:

To meet the rapid growth of demand as a result of such enormous rural electrification work in West Bengal and to provide uninterrupted quality power supply to all consumers, a total number of 52 new 33/11 KV Sub Stations under different RE schemes have been completed.

In addition to new 33/11 KV Sub Stations, augmentation of 30 nos. existing 33/11 KV S/Stn. in 7 districts of the State has been completed from WBSEDCL fund.

Commissioning of another 35 nos new 33/11 KV Sub-stations in 14 districts of West Bengal have been taken up under DDUGJY- New Scheme. Out of these 35 nos, 32 nos 33/11 KV sub-stations are commissioned already. Target date for completion of balance commissioning work is December, 2020.

Electrification in ‘Nadir Char’ area through off-grid solar PV plants with battery back-up covering 6 districts:

Initially, 75 locations were identified as remote & difficult area and inaccessible to grid power requiring electrification through SPV Plant with battery back-up. Subsequently, 11 such locations could somehow be electrified through grid power. Thus, at present, a total number of 64 locations covering 7 districts (Murshidabad, Nadia, Coochbehar, Burdwan, Bankura, Purulia, & Malda) have so far been identified which are in remote ‘Nadir Char’ areas where, due to their difficult geographical location, grid power is not accessible. It has, therefore, been decided that the said locations would be electrified through off-grid solar PV plants with battery back-up on turnkey mode and creation of LT network departmentally. Detailed survey and preparation of DPR for the purpose have already been completed. A fund of Rs. 111 Crore has been sanctioned by REC Ltd. for such job on re-appropriation of DDUGJY fund for West Bengal. LOA already placed for execution of work for the district of Bankura, Purulia, Coochbehar, Nadia, Bardhaman and Murshidabad. In case of Malda district tender cancelled several times due to high quoted price (single bid). LOIs for related LT network to be undertaken departmentally has been issued by respective Project Managers of WBSEDCL.



The progress of district wise electrification in different Nadir Char areas are tabulated below.

Status of work in of Nadir Char villages through off-grid Solar Power
District Scope Charged Household energised Remarks
(In KW) (In KW) (In Nos.)
Coochbehar 2000 1000 1693
Burdwan 195 195 361 Completed
Nadia 160 160 391 Completed
Purulia 70 65 59
Bankura 30 30 48 Completed
Murshidabad 2010 0 0
TOTAL 4465 1450 2552

Last Mile Connectivity under 'SAUBHAGYA' Scheme:

One scheme named Pradhan Mantri Sahaj Bijli Har Ghar Yojona: Saubhagya has been launched by Govt of India for providing last mile connectivity and electricity connections to remaining un-electrified households.

The Saubhagya project has been implemented departmentally through enlisted contractors of WBSEDCL.

The Scheme was completed in November, 2018 (before Target date December, 2018). The status of work is tabulated below:

Service connection to household under Saubhagya Scheme Sanctioned Value (Rs in Cr.) Fund utilised up to date (Rs in Cr.)
6, 46, 439 247.00 184.42

Scheme wise sanctioned cost vis-a-vis fund utilized as on 31.10.2020 are furnished in the following table:

Scheme Sanctioned Cost ( Rs in Crs ) Fund Receipt ( Rs in Crs ) Fund Utilised up to 31.10.2020 ( Rs in Crs ) Remarks (if any)
RGGVY X 452.93 452.93 459.08
RGGVY XI 2023.14 1941.16 1,916.30
RGGVY XII 524.66 451.62 524.66 The balance funding has been done from WBREP Universal Scheme as per approval.
WBREP 962.32 950.00 948.03
REDB I & II 89.16 83.95
BRGF 2,511.10 2,511.10 2285.98
Sunderban (SDB Fund) 118.41 117.79 100.85
Sagar (ICZM) 32.27 31.70 31.67
DDUGJY - South 24 PGS 79.33 N.A. 65.29
DDUGJY - Coochbehar (Less than 100) 26.32 N.A. 18.90
Enclave Coochbehar 32.05 21.09 17.62
Jhaukuthi - Coochbehar 1.65 1.65 1.64
Saubhagya 247.00 187.87 184.42






Sl No.
1
Name of RE Scheme
DGHC (For Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council Area)
BPL
25,637
APL
No Scope
Sl No.
2
Name of RE Scheme
RGGVY (X Plan)
BPL
92,835
APL
62,821
Sl No.
3
Name of RE Scheme
RGGVY (XI Plan)
BPL
20,98,556
APL
No Scope
Sl No.
4
Name of RE Scheme
WBREP
BPL
7,42,355
APL
No Scope
Sl No.
5
Name of RE Scheme
Sagar Island
BPL
250
APL
30,800
Sl No.
6
Name of RE Scheme
RGGVY(XII Plan)
BPL
32,013
APL
3,60,931
Sl No.
7
Name of RE Scheme
Electrification of Jhaukuthi village
BPL
APL
1,087
Sl No.
8
Name of RE Scheme
DDUGJY (Less than hundred)
BPL
144
APL
7,556
Sl No.
 
Name of RE Scheme
Total
BPL
29,91,790
APL
4,63,195


Sl No.
1
Name of ongoing RE Scheme
RGGVY (XI Plan) (Ph-II) being executed in Darjeeling Hilly Area by GTA
BPL Connection Scope
7,724
BPL Connection Energised
6,220
BPL Connection Balance
1,504
APL Connection Scope
2,286
APL Connection Energised
1,499
APL Connection Balance
787
Target of Completion
June,2018
Sl No.
2
Name of ongoing RE Scheme
BRGF
BPL Connection Scope
2,81,843
BPL Connection Energised
2,76,243
BPL Connection Balance
5,600
APL Connection Scope
13,98,24
APL Connection Energised
13,34,290
APL Connection Balance
63,954
Target of Completion
December,2018
Sl No.
3
Name of ongoing RE Scheme
Sundarban(SDB Funded)
BPL Connection Scope
893
BPL Connection Energised
342
BPL Connection Balance
551
APL Connection Scope
24,877
APL Connection Energised
20,493
APL Connection Balance
4,384
Target of Completion
December,2018
Sl No.
4
Name of ongoing RE Scheme
DDUGJY in South 24 Parganas
BPL Connection Scope
8,000
BPL Connection Energised
6,820
BPL Connection Balance
1,180
APL Connection Scope
15,831
APL Connection Energised
14,280
APL Connection Balance
1,551
Target of Completion
December,2018
Sl No.
5
Name of ongoing RE Scheme
Enclave
BPL Connection Scope
BPL Connection Energised
BPL Connection Balance
APL Connection Scope
2,800
APL Connection Energised
2,317
APL Connection Balance
483
Target of Completion
December,2018


Sl No.
1
Name of Scheme
RGGVY (X Plan)
Sanctioned Cost (Rs. in Crore)
452.93
Fund utilised up to 31st March, 2018 (Rs. in Crore)
459.08 (Excess fund from WBSEDCL)
Sl No.
2
Name of Scheme
RGGVY (XI Plan)
Sanctioned Cost (Rs. in Crore)
2170.24
Fund utilised up to 31st March, 2018 (Rs. in Crore)
1909.41
Sl No.
3
Name of Scheme
RGGVY (XII Plan)
Sanctioned Cost (Rs. in Crore)
950.00
Fund utilised up to 31st March, 2018 (Rs. in Crore)
922.37
Sl No.
4
Name of Scheme
WBREP
Sanctioned Cost (Rs. in Crore)
950.00
Fund utilised up to 31st March, 2018 (Rs. in Crore)
922.37
Sl No.
5
Name of Scheme
BRGF
Sanctioned Cost (Rs. in Crore)
2456.78
Fund utilised up to 31st March, 2018 (Rs. in Crore)
2105.05
Sl No.
6
Name of Scheme
Sundarban
Sanctioned Cost (Rs. in Crore)
115.76
Fund utilised up to 31st March, 2018 (Rs. in Crore)
94.86
Sl No.
7
Name of Scheme
Sagar (ICZM)
Sanctioned Cost (Rs. in Crore)
32.27
Fund utilised up to 31st March, 2018 (Rs. in Crore)
31.67
Sl No.
8
Name of Scheme
REDB-I & II
Sanctioned Cost (Rs. in Crore)
82.94
Fund utilised up to 31st March, 2018 (Rs. in Crore)
82.70
Name of Scheme
Total
Sanctioned Cost (Rs. in Crore)
7054.92
Fund utilised up to 31st March, 2018 (Rs. in Crore)
6215.16