In order to meet the energy requirements of the State, Chief Minister Harish Rawat has directed officials concerned to prepare 2,000 small solar power generators by next year. This will also help in creating entrepreneurs while also give a fillip to energy generation. To facilitate this the State Government will provide subsidy to solar energy plants with one to five kilowatt capacity and the marketing of the energy produced will also be facilitated. The CM also spoke of establishing solar panel manufacturing enterprises in Kotdwar and Bhimtal with the assistance of State Infrastructure and Industrial Development Corporation (SIIDCUl). This will help in enabling the availability of solar panels for the public, said Rawat, while adding that special efforts will have to be undertaken in order to resolve the electricity and water problems being experienced in the State.
The chief minister reviewed the various programmes being implemented by Uttarakhand Renewable Energy Development Agency (UREDA) here on Tuesday. Rawat directed that a housewife solar cooker assistance scheme be started to facilitate distribution of dish solar cookers in the whole state. He instructed that dish solar cookers be provided to BPl families at Rs 500 beneficiary contribution per cooker and Rs900 per cooker beneficiary contribution per cooker for other families.
The CM also directed officials to reward Tadikhet (Almora) government primary school principal Ganesh Chandra Paliwal for facilitating midday meals for students in his school using dish solar cooker for three years now and for saving on lPG. Rawat directed Power principal secretary Umakant Panwar and UREDA director to prepare a plan for increasing sources of income by setting up small solar power plants on private land available in rural areas.
Panwar informed the CM that till date the UREDA is operating scheme for cooking midday meals using dish solar cooker in government schools and providing the dish solar cookers to other families. He said that under this programme, Rs1,643 per unit assistance is being provided for dish solar cookers, each presently costing Rs6,573. With this, each beneficiary family is being provided dish solar cooker at Rs986 per unit. Up to 50 per cent lPG can be conserved by using solar cooker to prepare meals. The dish solar cooker is a suitable alternative means for cooking food in the mountainous regions experiencing low availability of lPG, consistent rise in price of lPG and problems in facilitating efficient supply of lPG cylinders. The chief principal secretary to the CM, Rakesh Sharma, additional secretary and UREDA director Ashish Joshi along with other officials were present in the meeting.