NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday emphasized the need for officials to explore ways for urban apartment dwellers to benefit from the Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojna, which would help them reduce their electricity bills. He highlighted that middle-class families living in apartments are currently unable to access the scheme, which offers a subsidy of up to 40% on the cost of installing rooftop solar panels.
The PM was chairing the PRAGATI meeting, a web-based platform for discussing key issues with central government secretaries and state chief secretaries. Currently, apartment residents are excluded from the scheme, as each beneficiary requires about 300 square feet of contiguous rooftop space to generate 300 units of electricity per month.
Sources said that during the meeting, Modi urged officials to find a viable solution to ensure the success of this ambitious solar initiative. When officials suggested that builders could provide land for the installation of solar systems, the PM stated that this approach was not practical in urban areas.
In an official release, the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) mentioned that Modi directed officials to boost the capacity for rooftop solar installations in states and UTs by developing a robust vendor ecosystem. He also instructed that the time required to process rooftop solar installations, from demand generation to operationalization, be reduced. Modi further called for a phased “saturation approach” to implement the scheme in villages, towns, and cities.
Additionally, the PM reviewed six Metro rail projects, two road connectivity projects, and thermal power projects totaling over Rs 1 lakh crore. Expressing concern about delays in these projects, Modi said that these issues stemmed from poor planning. He emphasized the importance of conducting ‘experience-sharing’ workshops in cities with ongoing or upcoming projects to capture best practices and lessons learned.
Reviewing public grievances in the banking and insurance sectors, the PM urged officials to focus on the quality of grievance resolution. The financial services department reported that 98% of grievances had been successfully addressed.
