KATHMANDU: Though the constitution and other acts and laws have mentioned state facilities for the poor, indigent and marginalized communities, effective implementation of such provisions is awaited, it is said.

Participants of a program organized by Nepal Energy Foundation here today to discuss measures for making energy system pro-poor made this argument. People from the above mentioned groups could not take additional benefits from the energy system as in the other areas, they said.

Advocate and natural resources expert Dilraj Khanal said still 18 per cent population were economically not in position of using electricity and a larger population than this from marginalized castes and communities had no access to electricity. As he said, the lack of concrete and clear definition about poor and confusions surrounding the poor identity cards have prevented the real poor from being entitled to state facilities.

Foundation’s executive director Dilli Ghimire said decisions in favor of target groups were still awaited due to dominance of government employees and service providers from formulations of policies and laws to their implementation.

His opinion was that poor and backward communities would not have access to energy until poor’s access to energy and justice became the issues of national concern.

Foundation’s energy officer Rojina Sharma shared the statistics that around 13 per cent population (740,511 households) lacked access to electricity.

Rastriya Samachar Samiti’s executive editor Krishna Adhikari spoke of the need of initiating discourse on access of poor and marginalized to energy and their right to media.