Emerging India needs balanced growth. The focus of growth plans should not be only on urban development but also on the overall development of the country, primarily villages and small towns. One way to achieve this is to make rural areas self-sufficient and one of the primary steps in this direction is rural electrification. The effect of rural electrification is multidimensional; for instance, it will result in poverty removal, create income and enhance rural literacy.
Alternative sources of energy or biofuel can meet the bulk of the energy requirement in rural India. Similarly, various methodology and technique are available that can make rural electrification programmes viable and ensure good rate of return on investment. The rural sector is deprived of energy because its demands are not projected by a concerted pressure group.
The energy scene does not inspire much confidence. Add to that the rural-urban energy divide. The issue assumes a grim dimension in light of the disparity in energy sharing, setting up infrastructure for power and laying electric lines. The standard refrain now is that there is a paucity of resources. This argument, however, flies in the face of the fact that a mere 7 per cent of all energy used globally can cover the demands of power in rural areas.
Today, in India, as many as 81,660 villages in 13 states are yet to be electrified. It is estimated that Uttar Pradesh tops the list of non-electrified rural zone (NERZ) with 24,162 villages coping with no power scenario. This forms 30 per cent of the NERZ in the country. Bihar is second with 16,668 villages constituting 20 per cent of the NERZ. Together the two states constitute half of the national non-electrified rural zone. In the last five years, these two states have faltered in concentrating at reducing the number of NERZ. Bihar electrified a paltry 43 NERZ whereas, Uttar Pradesh has electrified 943. At the sane time, states which have power surpluses should have grid networking to offload power to the non-electrified rural zone.