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ISLAMABAD – Around 64 percent area of Balochistan, the largest province of Pakistan, has no electricity facility despite tall claims of the governments.
“Thirty-six percent area of Balochistan has electricity facility. However, there is no report available that can clearly depict the approximate district-wise ratio of area of each district of Balochistan which has facility of electricity,” according to the document presented in the National Assembly. In the last five years, 6,682 villages were electrified in various districts of Balochistan, the breakup available with The Nation revealed.
According to year-wise breakup, the previous government [in PML-N’s era] had electrified 1,317 small villages in the year 2016-17. As many as 2,459 small villages were electrified in 2017-18. While, the current government electrified 1,064 in 2018-19, 819 in 2019-20, 1,023 in 2020-21.
Ministry for Power Division, responding to a query, accepted the fact that most of the areas of Balochistan have no facility of electricity. “There are many factors that play pivotal role regarding provision of electricity to the residents of Balochistan including scattered population in 53 percent area”. It was shared that during the tenure of present government, 6,429 electrification schemes had been initiated, out of which 2,198 schemes had been completed. Whereas, 4,231 schemes/works were in progress and were expected to be completed within one and half years, according to the available detail.
Scattered population major hurdle behind provision of electricity to Balochistan
As many as 16 projects of 132 KV grid stations have been completed which will augment distribution system of QESCO. The project “Interconnection of Isolated Makran -Network with National Grid System of Pakistan, through proposed 132kV Basima-Nal — Nag-Panjgoor transmission lines”, will ensure provision of electricity to remote areas of Balochistan.
It was claimed in the document that in order to provide electricity to un-electrified areas of Balochistan, Government of Balochistan with the support of Power Division was in process of developing the project “Off grid electrification of 9 Districts of Southern Balochistan. This project will ensure the provision of renewable energy to far flung areas of Balochistan, it said. Talking to The Nation MNA from Balochistan Agha Hassan Baloch said that there were no concrete measures taken by any government to remove deprivation of Balochistan. “How can we imagine that Balochistan has only 36 percent electricity facility in 2021, as rest of the 64 percent is in dark,” said Baloch. “In three districts of Makran, Balochistan is getting electricity from Iran,” he said, expressing concerns over performance of incumbent government.