Bithur Model of Rajasthan

Bithur is a small place in Ajmer district of Rajasthan. When the Chief Minister visited this place during a local “Nyay Aapke Dwar”, she stopped besides an old lady and asked her problems. The lady told her that their place has no power not water. When the CM asked officers, they told her that this village falls in those areas which have more than 40% T&D losses, thus have more power cuts. The CM spoke to the locals and said that if they could bring down the losses, they will get the electricity. It was just a simple conversation but changed the life of around 600 households of that town. What happened was that the women of those households turned into Urja Mitras and started monitoring and awareness against power theft. It not only brought down the loss but also became a role model to be replicated across the state and was thus known as Bithur Model.

• Thus, Bithur model is a community driven initiative where the villages are able to raise awareness and monitor the power thefts. It cuts the losses and improved power supply.
• It was a women’s initiative. They made all villagers take an oath against power theft, tampering of meters, backlog in payments and sparing the power thieves.
• The initiative brought down the power theft by 20%. Women created teams and raided the houses of power thieves and reported their cases.

There are currently three power distribution companies in Rajasthan — Jaipur, Jodhpur and Ajmer. They face an average T&D loss of 28%. If the T&D losses are can down by 6-7%, the discoms will function profitably and there will be no increase in tariffs. Bithur Model will prove to be a game changer if it is adopted throughout the state. It will enable good quality of power supply along with decreasing losses. Socially, it is a mode of women empowerment as well a tool to change the mindset of people.