60 MW Solar Plant To Power Indore's Water Supply By Year-End

The construction of a 60 megawatt solar power plant in Khargone in Madhya Pradesh at an estimated cost of Rs 308 crore is likely to be completed by the end of the year, an Indore Municipal Corporation official said.  

The foundation stone of the plant, which is coming up on an area of 220 acres in Jalud village in the neighbouring district, was laid via video conference by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on December 25 last year.  

"Of the estimated cost of Rs 308 crore, a sum of Rs 244 crore was raised by the Indore civic body through green bonds that were issued to the public in February last year," the official said.  

"Work on the plant has started and we are trying to complete it by the end of this year," IMC commissioner Shivam Verma told PTI.  

"IMC has to pay an electricity bill of about Rs 25 crore every month to bring Narmada river water to Indore, 80 kilometres away from Jalud, and for further distribution to every household. The use of electricity generated at the solar power plant at Jalud will reduce IMC's bill by about Rs 5 crore every month," he said.  

Indore, the cleanest city in the country, is largely dependent on the Narmada River for its water requirements.  

Incidentally, the city's groundwater level is continuously going down, officials said.