Team News Riveting
Raipur, June 18
Taking a leaf out of Central’s initiative, the Chhattisgarh government too has decided to provide financial assistance to promote the installation of rooftop solar plants in the state.
The Chhattisgarh cabinet on Wednesday approved a proposal to provide state government’s financial assistance in the installation of solar rooftop plants on the roofs of the houses under the Pradhan Mantri Suryaghar Free Electricity Scheme. The move is aimed to promote renewable energy in Chhattisgarh and to provide economic benefits to the electricity consumers.
Under the PM Surya Ghar Free Electricity Scheme, domestic consumers will get central financial assistance as well as additional financial assistance from the state for installing solar rooftop plants at their homes through Chhattisgarh State Power Distribution Company Limited (CSPDCL), which will vary based on the capacity of the solar plant (1 kW, 2 kW, 3 kW and above), a state government spokesperson said after the cabinet meeting.
For example, a total of Rs 45,000 will be provided for a 1 kW plant (Rs 30,000 central and Rs 15,000 state assistance) while for a plant of 3 kW or more, the assistance will be Rs 1,08,000 (Rs 78,000 central and Rs 30,000 state assistance). Similar assistance has also been proposed for housing societies and residential welfare associations.
The grant amount will be received by CSPDCL in advance and it will give it to the beneficiaries. A target has been set to set up 60,000 solar power plants in the year 2025-26 and 70,000 in 2026-27. This will entail a financial burden of Rs 180 crore in the financial year 2025-26 and Rs 210 crore in 2026-27.
CSPDCL will be the implementing agency of this scheme and will implement it as per the guidelines of the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), Government of India. The company will open a separate bank account for the operation of this scheme, in which the subsidy amount will be kept and accounted for. State financial assistance will be given on priority to those domestic consumers whose solar plant has grid synchronization on or after 1 April 2025.
