NEDA Had Sent Proposal For Electrification Of 25 Villages

Varanasi: “The state of Gujarat leads #India in terms of solar installations. The perfect place to be for @solarimpulse!” tweeted pilot Bertrand Piccard during the halt of Solar Impulse in Ahmedabad. He also tweeted “@solarimpulse is the flying proof that we can achieve miracles with clean technologies”.
But, the same is not true with Varanasi where Bertrand Piccard and Andre Borschberg will land with their Solar Impulse on March 15.Spreading the message of clean technology and renewable energy, the most advanced aircraft powered by solar energy is reaching the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Ahmedabad.
But for 25 villages of PM’s constituency, the wait for solar lights has now stretched to more than three months. Three to four months back, Non-conventional Energy Development Agency (NEDA) had sent a proposal for solar electrification of 5,000 houses in these villages to the Centre. The nod is still awaited. However, PM’s adopted village Jayapur is using solar energy for street lighting.
“The proposal of solar home lighting in rural households in 25 villages of the constituency had been forwarded three-four months ago. It is pending at the Central government level,” said NEDA officer R B Singh. According to him, solar home lighting has been proposed for 200 households in each village. It means 5,000 houses of these villages are waiting for solar light. The Centre would provide Rs 45,000 for solar lighting of each house while the beneficiary will have to bear an amount of Rs 5,000.
On the other hand, Modi’s Jayapur village today boasts of the country's first solar energy powered branch of a nationalized bank. Villagers also expect round the clock power supply based on solar energy. “Presently, there are 17 solar powered street lights in the village, and we are hopeful about solar home lighting,” said Narayan Patel, who looks after village affairs on behalf of Gram Pradhan Durgavati Devi.
According to NEDA sources, efforts are on to arrange solar lighting to 200 houses of PM’s adopted village under some other scheme. Besides, the work of solar street lighting in 27 Lohia villages is in progress.
Though the city is yet to harness solar energy, solar water heating system is being used by some organisations. According to NEDA records, the Banaras Hindu University campus has solar water heating system with a capacity of 25,000 liters. Besides, Triveni Complex and Girls Hostel on the campus also have 4400 litre and 12,000 litre water heating systems respectively. Some other establishments including BSNL (1000 litre), 39 Gorkha Training Centre (500 litre) Ram Krishna Mission (2500 litre), a private hospital in Alaipura area (500 litre) and a hotel in Dashashwamedh area (500 litre) have installed their own water heating systems.