Solar powered irrigation facilities would now facilitate uninterrupted water supply to the farmers with land near Sabari river, officials stated.
The plan was approved by State Chief Secretary Vivek Dhand who is also the Chairman of State Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA) Coordination Committee on December 29 last year.
Additional Principal Chief Conservator of Forest BK Sinha said as many as 203 farmers had been chosen for the plan. They will be divided in a group of two individuals. Around 103 Solar Pumps with a capacity of 5 horse power will be installed under the CAMPA fund, stated officials.
Notably, the families chosen in the plan are from Scheduled Tribe (ST) category.
Officials claimed the execution of the plan would generate employable opportunities for most of these farmers.
The Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has launched solar pumping programme for irrigation and drinking water under off-grid and decentralized solar applications scheme for 1,00,000 pumps during 2014-15.
The number of solar pumps installed in various states is as follows-Chhattisgarh ( 240), Bihar 139, Haryana (469), Assam 45, Goa (15), Gujarat ( 85), Himachal Pradesh ( 6), J&K (39), Karnataka ( 551), Kerala ( 810), Madhya Pradesh ( 87), Maharashtra ( 239), Manipur ( 40), Meghalaya ( 19), Mizoram( 37), Nagaland ( 3), Orissa ( 56), Punjab ( 1857), Rajasthan ( 11,603), Tamil Nadu ( 829), Tripura ( 151), Uttar Pradesh ( 1348), Uttarakhand ( 26), West Bengal ( 48), Andman & Nicobar ( 5), Chandigarh ( 12), Delhi ( 90), Puducherry (21), Andhra
Pradesh ( 613).