“Currently, there are 20.17 lakh agricultural electricity connections in the state, while the central government has allowed the installation of one lakh pump sets for solar power pump sets at the feeder level, and the center has also allowed another 2 lakh solar pump sets.”- K. VijayanandChief Secretary, Andhra Pradesh

Metro India News | AMARAVATI

Chief Secretary K. Vijayanand has instructed the officials to take steps to create awareness among the people on Pradhan Mantri Suryagarh Scheme in the state. The first State Level Coordination Committee meeting was held under the chairmanship of CS at the State Secretariat on Wednesday regarding Pradhan Mantri Suryagarh Scheme and Pradhan Mantri-Kusum schemes.

Speaking on the occasion, the CS said that the Central Government has introduced this scheme across the country to enable households to generate their own electricity by installing solar rooftops and reduce the burden of electricity bills.

He said that this scheme will be implemented by the National Programme Implementation Agency (NPIA) at the national level and State Implementation Agencies (SIAs) at the state level. Hence, under this scheme, DISCOMs will install rooftops in their respective areas.

CS Vijayanand stated that the government has proposed 100 percent solarization to develop Nadimuru village in Kuppam mandal of Chittoor district and Naravaripalle village in Chandragiri mandal of Tirupati district as model solar villages. In addition, the CS said that the target has been set to develop 5 villages in each district across the state as model solar villages under the pilot project.

Under the “PM Suryagarh Muft Bijli Yojana”, the central government provides a subsidy of 60% of the solar unit cost for systems with a capacity of 2 kilowatts and 40% of the additional system cost for systems between 2 and 3 kilowatts, and up to Rs. 78,000 for systems up to 3 kilowatts. The applicant should have a house with a roof suitable for installing solar panels and a valid electricity connection to the house.

Steps should be taken to save electricity bills by installing solar rooftops on various government buildings, schools, colleges and other government buildings in addition to houses. CS Vijayanand instructed the Transco officials to prepare appropriate action plans in coordination with the relevant departments.

The CS said that efforts are being made to promote solar power in the agricultural sector under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha Evam Utthan Mahabhiyaan (PYAM-KUSUM) scheme. Currently, there are 20.17 lakh agricultural electricity connections in the state, while the central government has allowed the installation of one lakh pump sets for solar power pump sets at the feeder level, and the center has also allowed another 2 lakh solar pump sets, he said.

To continuously monitor the promotion of renewable energy production through solar roof top installations, the government has formed a state-level coordination committee under the chairmanship of the CS with secretaries and HODs of various departments at the state level, and this committee will meet and discuss once in every three months, CS Vijayanand said.

Earlier, AP Genco MD KVN Chakradhar Babu explained various guidelines related to the implementation of PM Suryagarh and PM Kusum schemes through a power point presentation. AP Transco JMD Keerthy Cherukuri, AP EPDCL, AP SPDCL, AP CPDCL CMDs Prithvi Tej, Santosha Rao, AKV Bhaskar, Nedcap MD Kamalakar Babu, Joint Secretary Kumar Reddy and others participated in this meeting. Similarly, Education Secretary K. Shashidhar, SERP CEO V. Karuna, Housing MD Rajababu and others participated virtually.