BHUBANESWAR: Over 38 lakh households including more than 15 lakh BPL families in the State do not have electricity in their houses, Energy Minister Pranab Prakash Dash informed the Assembly on Tuesday.
In a written reply to a question from Dilip Ray (BJP), the Minister said according to the information received from power distribution companies, of 96,53,592 households in Odisha, 58,29,120 are yet to be given electricity connection.
The Minister admitted that the State has 47,677 villages out of which 1,243 are yet to be electrified.
In Keonjhar district, of 5,83,670 households, 3,93,261 do not have electricity. Similarly, in Kalahandi, 2,41,230 out of total 4,00,314 households have not been electrified while 1,98,056 households of 3,37,677 in Koraput remain without electricity.
Surprisingly, in two coastal districts of Cuttack and Balasore, more than two lakh households do not have electricity. While 2,04,925 out of 5,55,328 households in Cuttack do not have electricity, 2,02,011 out of 5,32,281 households in Balasore are yet to be electrified.
The Minister said as per 1997 survey, out of 44,93,410 below poverty line (BPL) families, 29,78,772 do not have electricity in their house.