The Government's new guidelines for selecting model solar villages under the PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana aims to solarise one village per district
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has released operational guidelines for the implementation of the “Model Solar Village” component under the PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, a scheme targeting the installation of rooftop solar plants in one crore households across India. With a substantial financial outlay of Rs 75,021 crore, this initiative aims to significantly promote green and clean energy.
As part of the Model Solar Village scheme, the government seeks to solarise one village per district, aiming to empower village communities by enabling them to meet their energy needs independently. The scheme also promotes the adoption of solar-based home lighting systems, solar water systems, and solar streetlights, ultimately developing villages that can operate 24x7 on solar power. These villages will serve as models for others, demonstrating the benefits of solar energy.
The scheme provides central financial assistance of Rs 1 crore per model village. The implementation will be overseen by the State Renewable Energy Development Agency or another nominated entity if such an agency is unavailable in the respective state or union territory.
Selection as a Model Solar Village will be conducted under a challenge mode. Villages within a district will be evaluated based on their performance under the PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana and other government schemes like PM-KUSUM. After the challenge period, villages will be assessed on the basis of the total distributed renewable energy capacity installed within their revenue borders. The village with the highest cumulative capacity will be chosen as the Model Solar Village for that district.
Once selected, the District Level Committee (DLC) will oversee the uninterrupted implementation of the scheme at the district level. The DLC will initially select candidate villages in the district, which will then compete against each other to become the Model Solar Village of the district.
Following the selection of candidate villages, a competition period will begin, during which Panchayats will conduct mobilisation exercises. The Agency will assess the renewable energy capacity within the confines of each village, and the village with the highest capacity will be declared the Model Solar Village for the district. Each selected Model Solar Village will receive a grant of Rs 1 crore as central financial assistance.
This competitive approach aims to foster a spirit of innovation and sustainability in rural India, driving the adoption of solar energy and setting benchmarks for green energy solutions across the country.