Model solar village to be developed in each district
One village in every district will be developed as a model solar village under the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. The first meeting of the District Level Coordination Committee (DLCC) notified by the government to review the implementation of the scheme in Kangra district was held under the chairmanship of Deputy Commissioner Hemraj Bairwa yesterday.
The meeting held in the Deputy Commissioner's office discussed the expansion of the project in the district under the scheme. Bairwa said that under the scheme, a village would be identified and developed as a soar energy village in the district.
He said that the process for the selection of an ideal solar energy village was being started in Kangra district. "Villages having a population of 2,000 or more and that have the highest participation in the use of non-conventional energy will be eligible to apply under the scheme. The government will sanction Rs 1 crore for the development of such ideal solar energy villages and for the expansion of green energy in the villages. The list of eligible villages in Kangra district for selection has been made available to Kangra, Dehra and Dalhousie circles of Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Ltd," he added.
The Deputy Commissioner said that for the selected model solar village, the Model Solar Village Implementation Agency nominated by the government would develop a detailed project report (DPR) and work on it to convert the village into a solar-powered village. The scheme would be implemented effectively in Kangra district so that targets could be achieved and progress made in its implementation would be reviewed on a regular basis, he added.
Bairwa said that under the scheme, there was a facility of subsidy from the government on grid connected rooftop solar power plants of capacity up to 3 kW for domestic electricity consumers. "There is a facility of subsidy of 60 per cent of the benchmark cost i.e. Rs 33,000 per kilowatt for up to 2 kilowatt capacity and 40 per cent of the benchmark cost, Rs 19,800 for additional 1 kilowatt." he added.
He said that people could avail of the benefits of the scheme by registering themselves on its portal. Project Officer of Himurja and Member Secretary of DLCC Ramesh Thakur said that while Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board Limited was implementing the scheme, the government had notified Himurja as the nodal agency to review its implementation. The main components of the scheme include Central Financial Assistance (CFA) for domestic electricity consumers, solar energy saturation in government buildings, incentives for the promotion of local bodies and the development of Adarsh Urja Gram, he added.
Bairwa said that under the scheme, the target was to install one crore grid-connected solar power plants on the roofs of one crore domestic electricity consumers in the country by March 31, 2027, for which the Central Government had made a provision of Rs 75,021 crore.
