MillenniumPost
Delhi

Delhi govt to roll out solar scheme for farmers in Dec

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government's solar scheme for the farmers as announced by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is all set to be rolled out next month. This scheme is targeted to increase the income of Delhi farmers. In July, the government took the decision and according to sources, the revenue department has made all the sides of this scheme ready which is likely to be rolled out in the second week of December. For the scheme, the farmers should get permission from the revenue officers of the region.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in July announced the "Mukhyanmantri Kisan Aaye Badhotri Solar Yojna" which aims at increasing the annual income of farmers in the national capital by three to five times. According to the scheme, approved by the Delhi Cabinet, the maximum of the one-third surface area of farmland can be used for the installation of solar panels in such a way that agriculture activity is not affected.

The present estimated annual income of farmers is Rs 20,000 to 30,000 per acre. Besides increment in income, the farmer will also get 1,000 unit free electricity per acre from the solar plant annually. The minimum height of solar panels installed will be 3.5 metres to ensure that agricultural activity is not affected, he said.

The chief minister said the Delhi government's departments will also buy electricity from companies which install solar panels on the agriculture land. At present, departments buy electricity at Rs 9 per unit, but with this scheme, they will buy electricity at Rs 4 per unit thus saving Rs 400 to 500 crore annually for the state exchequer.

According to an earlier statement issued by the government, the scheme will provide a source of additional earning to farmers starting from Rs 1 lakh per acre per year with an annual increment of six per cent to reach Rs 4.04 lakh annually per acre of land in the 25th year.

It stated that six-acre of land will be required for the installation of one MW solar plant which could generate approximately 13 lakh units of electricity annually. Solar Power Developer (SPD) will enter into Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Delhi government departments for the supply of solar power to departments like health, PWD and DJB, the statement said.

Next Story
Share it