Samba: Palli village to be carbon-neutral in 18 months: Sarpanch

Arjun Sharma

Palli (Samba), April 26

Two days after a major event at Palli village in Samba district of Jammu where PM Narendra Modi inaugurated a 500 kW solar plant, Sarpanch Randhir Sharma said the panchayat was not yet fully carbon-neutral and it would take around one-and-a-half year to achieve the target.

Change awaited

Several villagers are still using electricity-run water pumps and wood as kitchen fuel. They are yet to use solar devices. Randhir Sharma, Sarpanch

Modi’s visit was seen as a major boost to carbon neutrality in the panchayat which many touted as Palli’s national-level achievement.

Talking to The Tribune at the panchayat office, Sharma said, “Every house has been given solar cooker. A solar plant has also come up in the village. Still Palli is not yet fully carbon-neutral. We are moving towards achieving the goal.”

For a panchayat to be carbon-neutral, he said there were many parameters. “At present, water pumps in agricultural fields are running on electricity and only around 10-20 are running on solar energy. We are trying hard to convince all farmers to shift their pumps to solar energy.”

The sarpanch said, “Some families use wood as kitchen fuel. We are trying to provide them solar stoves.”

Though a large quantity of vermicompost has been used this season, there are farmers who still use ‘neem-coated’ fertilisers. “This is why I am saying Palli is still not carbon-neutral,” the sarpanch added.