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Bijli Sakhis at work: SHG members collect power bills worth ₹173.5 cr
Working under the Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission, the women have earned ₹2.39 crore in commission
Members of women self help groups (SHGs) as Bijli Sakhis have collected power bills worth over ₹173.5 crore so far, earning a commission of ₹2.39 crore, a Uttar Pradesh State Rural Livelihood Mission (UPSRLM) spokesperson said on Thursday.
The Bijli Sakhis scheme is a new step by the U.P. government to involve women SHGs in power meter reading and bill collection as part of the UPSRLM to help transform the lives of rural women through livelihood, said the official.
There are currently 9,165 Bijli Sakhis in the state. In rural areas, a commission of ₹20 is given to a Bijli Sakhi per bill of up to ₹2000 and 1% on bill collection above ₹2000, while in urban areas, ₹12 is paid as commission per bill of up to ₹3000 and 0.4% on bills over ₹3000, said the UPSRLM official.
Citing a case, the official said that Bijli Sakhi, Kshama Sharma, in Bulandshahr district, collects power bills door-to-door in rural areas, saving villagers the time and energy wasted in standing in long queues for hours on end, and she earns a commission in the process.
“Kshama Sharma has collected 17,513 bills totalling ₹3.81 crore, earning a total commission of ₹4,62,863 in the process,” he said.
A government spokesperson said that under the instructions of chief minister Yogi Adityanath, the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) had signed an agreement with the National Rural Livelihood Mission in all districts of UP to allow SHGs to collect bill payments from citizens.
He added that “On February 1, 2020, the first MoU was signed with the intention of launching this as a pilot programme in eight districts of Uttar Pradesh. Subsequently, following the exceptional success of the pilot project, the government decided to roll it out in all the 826 blocks of the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh for which another MoU was signed on August 21, 2021.”
As the world moves toward digitisation and technological growth, UPSRLM decided to educate rural women about it. On November 17, 2021, UPSRLM also inked a third MoU with ICICI Bank and Avenues to boost the effectiveness of the effort.
Bhanu Goswami, UPSRLM director, said: “The initiative has successfully enabled the women of rural areas to earn ₹6,000 to ₹8,000 on an average every month.”
