Dulloo Reviews Solarisation Drive, Calls for Faster Rooftop Installations Across J&K
SRINAGAR, OCTOBER 7: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo on Wednesday reviewed the progress of the solarisation programme across Jammu and Kashmir, with particular focus on rooftop solar installations for residential consumers and the solarisation of government buildings under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana.
The meeting reviewed the implementation of rooftop solar projects under both CAPEX and RESCO modes and examined the bottlenecks affecting the pace of installations. ACS, Power; Commissioner Secretary, Science and Technology; Managing Directors of JPDCL and KPDCL; Chief Engineers; CEO, JAKEDA; Deputy Commissioners and other senior officers attended the meeting. Deputy Commissioners participated through video conferencing.
Dulloo directed the Power Development Department (PDD) and implementing agencies to address bottlenecks related to bank financing, vendor availability, metering and the timely execution of Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs).
Taking note of the high rejection rate of bank loan applications, the Chief Secretary asked the Discoms to take up all rejected cases with the concerned banks, ascertain the reasons for rejection and resolve the issues promptly so that eligible consumers are not deprived of the benefits of the rooftop solar programme due to avoidable financing hurdles.
He also directed the Discoms to ensure equitable distribution of vendors across districts to improve the availability of service providers and accelerate rooftop solar installations.
Reviewing district-wise progress, Dulloo sought details from Deputy Commissioners regarding impediments affecting the achievement of assigned targets and called for coordinated intervention by the concerned departments to resolve the issues.
ACS, PDD, Ashwani Kumar informed the meeting that J&K has achieved 55.24 per cent of its target under PM Surya Ghar, with 46,133 residential rooftop solar systems installed against the Union Territory's target of 83,500 installations by March 31, 2027. The progress is higher than the national achievement of 50.80 per cent.
MD, KPDCL, Mehmood Ahmad Shah informed the meeting that 17,809 installations had been completed in JPDCL areas with a capacity of 62.69 MW, while KPDCL areas accounted for 28,324 installations with a capacity of 102.55 MW. The cumulative rooftop solar capacity installed across J&K has consequently reached 165.24 MW.
The meeting was further informed that ₹344.14 crore in Central subsidy and ₹13 crore in UT subsidy have so far been credited to beneficiaries. Against the target of 83,500 installations, 89,680 applications have been received. Of these, 82,591 applicants have selected vendors, 69,460 consumer agreements have been uploaded and 42,686 rooftop systems have been commissioned.
Officials stated that nearly 75 per cent of rooftop solar installations in KPDCL areas are dependent on bank financing. Of the 61,566 loan applications submitted, 17,416 have been rejected, including 14,232 in KPDCL areas. As many as 38,773 cases have been sanctioned and disbursed, while 5,367 cases remain under process.
The Chief Secretary also reviewed the solarisation of government buildings. Commissioner Secretary, Science and Technology, Babila Rakwal informed the meeting that against a CAPEX target of 12,994 government buildings, 8,850 have already been solarised with a combined capacity of 95.64 MW.
Of these, 4,793 buildings have been covered under PM Surya Ghar and hybrid projects with a capacity of 41.50 MW, while another 4,057 buildings have been solarised under the ongoing programme with a capacity of 54.14 MW.
The remaining projects are at various stages of implementation. Materials have been supplied to 1,300 buildings, work is underway at 943 sites and surveys are in progress for another 1,901 buildings.
Under the RESCO mode, CEO, JAKEDA, PN Dhar informed the meeting that solarisation of 8,000 government buildings with a cumulative capacity of 152 MW has been proposed, with work orders already issued for 5,185 buildings. NHPC has also proposed solarisation of 1,500 government buildings with a total capacity of 23 MW under the arrangement.
The meeting was informed that a PPA for an 8 MW project has already been signed for the Health and Medical Education Department in Jammu, while surveys of School Education Department buildings in Jammu are underway.
Dulloo directed JAKEDA to coordinate with the respective Discoms for installation of meters alongside the execution of solar projects so that metering does not emerge as a bottleneck after installation.
He also directed the PDD to ensure installation of smart meters at the earliest to facilitate the commissioning and operationalisation of rooftop solar systems already installed on government buildings.
The Chief Secretary called for expeditious completion of all requisite PPAs, stressing that administrative and procedural formalities must proceed simultaneously with physical implementation so that completed solar assets are made operational without delay.
He further directed JAKEDA to accord greater attention to the RESCO mode, observing that progress under the component remained slow and required closer monitoring and timely resolution of implementation-related issues.
Dulloo called for time-bound action and stronger coordination among all concerned agencies, emphasising that financing, vendor availability, metering, PPAs and execution-related bottlenecks must be resolved promptly to convert the growing pipeline of rooftop solar projects into fully commissioned assets. ANB
