BJP, Oppn MLAs unite to push for solar power dream

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, September 3

Legislators cutting across party lines emphasised on the use of solar power to reduce the farm subsidy bill.

Moving a non-official resolution in the Haryana Vidhan Sabha, Congress MLA Karan Dalal pleaded for making the installation of solar equipment on nearly 6 lakh tubewells mandatory to cut the subsidy bill “The greater share of the solar energy in the agriculture sector will go a long way in tackling the problem of pending power bills, besides being a source a income for farmers in case of surplus power,” he said.

Dalal’s resolution found support from BJP’s Randhir Kaprivaas and Abhe Singh Yadav and INLD’s Zakir Hussain. The MLAs regretted Punjab produced about 300 MW of solar power and the production in Haryana was about 1 MW.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar said the subsidy bill for 2014-15 was pegged at Rs 6,200 crore, while the cumulative losses of the power distribution companies were a whopping Rs 29,362 crore. “With no water for hydel power and no own coal reserves, solar energy seems to be the only viable option available for Haryana,” he said.

Khattar informed the House the state’s share was pegged at 2,000 MW out of all-India production of 1 lakh MW by 2020. “This year’s target for the state was projected to be 400 MW, of which the tendering process for the generation of 150 MW is at an advanced stage,” the Chief Minister said.

“To generate 12 KW of solar energy, about Rs 8 lakh to Rs 12 lakh is required. An estimated Rs 50,000 crore will be needed to install solar pumps at all 6 lakh tubewells,” he said stressing the need for phase-wise implementation of the scheme.

Digital Haryana

Haryana has bagged the Skoch Order-of-Merit national award for implementing six e-governance and IT initiatives in the state, Khattar said while intervening in a discussion on non-official resolution moved by Panchkula MLA Gian Chand Gupta on speeding up implementation of the e-governance decisions of the government.

To providing time-bound and hassle-free services, the Chief Minister the government had notified 163 services which would be delivered to the citizens at their doorsteps. The state government is committed to providing internet services in all 6,500 villages of the state.