Srinagar, Oct 8 — Under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has installed more than 46,000 rooftop solar power units.
“J&K has achieved 55.24 per cent of its target under PM Surya Ghar, with 46,133 residential rooftops installed against the UT target of 83,500 installations by March 31, 2027. The achievement is higher than the national progress of 50.80 per cent,” Additional Chief Secretary, Power Development Department, Ashwani Kumar, said at a review meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo.
Managing Director Kashmir Power Development Corporation Ltd (KPDCL), Mehmood Ahmad Shah, said of the total installations, 17,809 have been completed in JPDCL areas with a capacity of 62.69 MW, while 28,324 installations have been completed in KPDCL areas with a capacity of 102.55 MW, taking the cumulative installed rooftop solar capacity in J&K to 165.24 MW.
The meeting was informed that Rs 344.14 crore of central subsidy and Rs 13 crore of UT subsidy have so far been credited to beneficiaries.
Dulloo directed the Power Development Department (PDD) and implementing agencies to address the bottlenecks affecting the pace of installations, with particular focus on bank financing, availability and distribution of vendors, metering and expeditious execution of PPAs.
Taking note of the high rejection rate of bank loans, the chief secretary directed the discoms to take up all rejected loan cases with the banks concerned.
Reviewing the solarisation of government buildings, the meeting was informed that against a total capex target of 12,994 government buildings, 8,850 buildings have already been solarised, with a combined capacity of 95.64 MW.
This includes 4,793 buildings covered under PM Surya Ghar and hybrid projects with a capacity of 41.50 MW, besides 4,057 buildings solarised under the ongoing programme with a capacity of 54.14 MW.
“The remaining projects are also at various stages of implementation, with materials supplied to 1,300 buildings, 943 sites under active implementation and surveys underway for another 1,901 buildings”, officials added.
The PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana is a central government scheme launched to provide free electricity to residential households by promoting rooftop solar panel installations.
Eligible households receive up to 300 units of free electricity every month. The scheme aims to benefit 1 crore households across India. The central government approved a budget of Rs 75,021 crore for the project.
The Central government’s financial assistance is provided directly to the beneficiary's bank account based on the capacity of the rooftop solar system.