To supplement the income of farmers, Punjab Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh on Monday gave the go-ahead to launch a pilot project for Solar Energy generation on agricultural land on rental basis, besides allowing farmers to undertake high-value cultivation of fruits and vegetables.
Chairing a meeting with a CII delegation, led by its national president Rakesh Bharti Mittal, here, Capt Amarinder Singh also agreed to send a joint deputation from Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA) and senior officers from Agriculture and Horticulture Department to visit Maharashtra to examine a similar project developed there under the auspices of CII.
Director General CII Chandrajit Banerjee informed the Chief Minister that several private players were interested in setting up solar plants over the land of farmers for a minimum lease period of 25 years.
Underscoring the need to motivate farmers to move towards crop diversification, the Chief Minister hoped that the same project could be replicated in the Kandi area and south west Punjab, especially in the citrus orchards and vegetable-growing belt in the vicinity of ludhiana and Malerkotla.
The CM also approved a green building pilot project, as suggested by CII, and expressed his willingness to implement the concept in the upcoming Government Medical College and Hospital at Mohali. He asked his Principal Secretary to work out modalities in consultation with Punjab Urban Development Authority (PUDA) to evolve the necessary guidelines for making the concept mandatory for new government buildings to cut down substantially on the carbon footprint and also to save on energy.
Acceding to a request of the CII delegation, the Chief Minister asked his Principal Secretary to immediately initiate steps for expediting clearances for increasing the frequency of flights between Delhi and ludhiana to boost trade and connectivity.
Evincing keen interest in developing the logistics sector in the state, the Chief Minister sought CII's support for setting up a centre of excellence in logistics to improve competitiveness in the sector and generate employment. Better logistics would also give an impetus to supplementing farmers' income, through improved transportation and storage of perishable commodities like fruits, vegetables, milk & dairy products, fisheries and eggs, he added.