Chief Secretary, Atal Dulloo, today chaired a high level meeting to review the progress achieved under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSMBY), a flagship initiative aimed at promoting solar energy through rooftop installations for the households and solarization of government buildings across the country.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, Power Development Department (PDD); Principal Secretary, Finance; Managing Directors of JPDCL and KPDCL; Deputy Commissioners; CEO JAKEDA; Chief Engineers of KPDCL/JPDCL and other senior officials.
Taking stock of the rooftop solar installations across the districts, the Chief Secretary emphasised the need for time-bound implementation. He directed the DISCOMs, JPDCL and KPDCL, to ensure that the vendors complete installations in the shortest possible time.
Dulloo impressed upon the Deputy Commissioners to personally monitor the progress on rooftop solar projects in their respective districts and ensure timely completion, enabling the consumers to experience minimal delays. He also reviewed the status of applications and installations district-wise and sought a strategy from each DC to fast-track execution.
To maintain quality and efficiency, he instructed the senior officers of JPDCL and KPDCL to undertake field visits to inspect the ongoing installations. He stressed the importance of institutional leadership while encouraging the DISCOM employees to set an example by adopting rooftop solar systems themselves.
The Chief Secretary also directed that Common Service Centre (CSC) operators be empanelled to facilitate the consumer registrations at the grassroots level, ensuring ease of access for the rural and remote households.
Reviewing the solarization of government buildings, another critical component of the PMSMBY, the Chief Secretary described it as a prestigious initiative that must be executed with utmost seriousness. He directed the Deputy Commissioners to verify the functionality of each installed rooftop system and submit building-wise status reports by June 30, after coordinating with the JAKEDA for the requisite data.
Speaking on the occasion, Principal Secretary, Finance, Santosh D. Vaidya, stressed the need to involve the local contractors in solarisation drive by registering them as vendors and incentivising their participation. He underlined that the scheme’s momentum hinges on the proactive involvement of local players, both from a developmental and entrepreneurial standpoint besides ensuring its completion on time.
Principal Secretary, PDD, Rajesh Prasad, highlighted that consumer response to the scheme has been overwhelming in recent months, with a significant uptick in applications. He noted that the focus must now shift to enhance the vendor capacity and on-ground execution, for which the department is actively engaging empanelled vendors.
Providing an update on the implementation status, MD JPDCL, Choudhary Yasin, reported that 6,121 Solar Rooftop Systems (SRTs) with a combined capacity of 22.51 MW have already been installed across the UT. So far, 12,206 consumers under JPDCL and 8,108 under JPDCL have selected their vendors, while 802 (JPDCL) and 690 (KPDCL) consumers have completed payments also.
He added that the cumulative application load received stands at approximately 78.51 MW (JPDCL) and 103.35 MW (KPDCL), indicating the strong public interest and demand.
Similarly, MD, KPDCL, Mehmood Ahmad Shah, informed the meeting that aggressive Information, Education & Communication (IEC) campaigns have been launched to promote adoption. He highlighted the terrain-related challenges in the Valley, especially on steep tin rooftops and the need for vendors to scale up their material procurement and manpower to meet demand.
Providing a detailed overview of the government building solarization component, CEO, JAKEDA,PN Dhar, shared that a total of 70 MW capacity will be achieved through Capex mode and an additional 175 MW under RESCO mode, covering 22,494 government buildings in the UT.
Under Capex mode, 5,220 buildings (43.40 MW) have already been taken up, with work orders issued for 3,403 more buildings, expected to add another 34.39 MW into the power system of the UT. Under RESCO mode, 1,500 buildings (35 MW) will be completed by NHPC and and 8,000 buildings (175 MW) by JAKEDA itself, the meeting was informed.
The meeting reaffirmed the government’s commitment to green energy and urged all stakeholders to make coordinated efforts to ensure the timely and high-quality implementation of this transformative scheme without any fail.