Power supply transforms two villages in Gurgaon

‘MHARA GAON JAGMAG GAON’ SCHEME

SONU, 19, a resident of Bar Gujjar village in Gurgaon district, who graduated from school two years ago, envies his juniors who have the luxury of staying up late to complete their school work, without having to factor in availability of electricity and the presence of enough lighting.

“When I was in school, we had to finish our studies by 10 pm, because after that the electricity would be cut off,” he said.

In the past year, the village has transformed itself — with the biggest change happening in January when the village became one of the 173 in the state to be provided with 24-hour uninterrupted electricity supply, as part of the ‘Mhara Gaon Jagmag Gaon’ scheme.

An official from the Dakshin Haryana Bijli Vitran Nigam (DHBVN) said line loss was the factor that determined which feeders to include in the scheme. “Feeders that had line losses of less than 20 per cent were included in the scheme,” said the official.

“For example, for every 100 units of electricity, we expect to get payment for at least 80 units. Feeders where this was found to be the case were included in the scheme, and one Gurgaon feeder, which provides electricity to Bar Gujjar and Naurangpur villages, qualified according to this criteria,” he said.

Residents of the two villages, however, said although power supply is much better than before, there is electricity for only “18 to 20 hours”.

“Earlier, power supply was very erratic — between 10 and 12 hours a day. At other times, be it summer or winter, it was up to us to manage,” Subey, a resident of Bar Gujjar, said.

Lakshman, another villager, added, “Regular electricity supply has made our lives easier. Above everything else, this has helped us manage our farms and livestock better.”

Pradeep Yadav, the sarpanch of Naurangpur village, said the improvement in electricity supply has helped people cut down on expenses. “Until last year, we had to arrange for generators and inverters,” he said. Yadav further pointed out that lack of streetlights in both villages is an issue that needs to be addressed now.

“There is no point providing so much electricity if it cannot ensure people’s safety. For example, the road here that connects the village to the highway is used by heavy vehicles and pedestrians. There have been accidents in the area due to lack of proper lighting,” he said.

Shiv Raj Singh, executive engineer, DHBVN, Manesar, said streetlights were not DHBVN’S responsibility. “That is the panchayat’s responsibility. We can supply them with electricity, but arranging for lights and paying for the supply will be their job.”

He also contradicted claims of residents about electricity being supplied only for “18 to 20 hours”. “The only time it is cut is when there is a breakdown or some maintenance work is due. Otherwise, electricity supply is regular and in accordance with the scheme,” he added.

Manoj Kumar Gurgaon’s Naurangpur village now has 24-hour electricity supply.