CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Green Energy Corporation (TNGEC) will set up district-level committees led by superintending engineers to select model solar villages under the PM-Surya Ghar scheme.
Talking to TNIE, a senior TNGEC official said the committees will include village presidents and officials from various departments such as revenue, agriculture, horticulture and rural development as members. “We are likely to hold district-wise meetings in the first week of September to discuss this,” he said.
Only revenue villages with a population exceeding 5,000 can participate in the scheme. Besides the population, the villages will also be selected on the basis of their potential for adapting to solar energy. Each selected village will receive a grant of Rs 1 crore from the union government, a TNGEC official said.
The scheme will promote solar-based home lighting systems, solar water systems, solar pumps for agriculture, and solar street lights covering village roads and common infrastructure.
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced plans to develop one Model Solar Village in every district across India. The initiative aims to encourage the use of solar energy and help villages become self-reliant in meeting their energy needs. A budget of Rs 800 crore has been allocated for this scheme, with Rs 1 crore set aside for each selected village.
Nine-year wait
It is after a nine-year gap that the state is reintroducing the Solar Village Project in a bid to make the villages self-sustainable. The project, which has similarities with the new one, was initially proposed by government led by former CM J Jayalalithaa in 2015, with plans to build a 170 KW solar plant at Irumbai village in Villupuram district. However, land acquisition issues and an increase in GST from 5% to 18% on solar components led to project’s cancellation
