Govt To Electrify 1L Unelectrified Tribal Households With Off-Grid Solar

Govt To Electrify 1L Unelectrified Tribal Households With Off-Grid Solar

The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is now all set to roll out a dedicated scheme to electrify the unelectrified households of Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Groups (PVTGs) under the Pradhan Mantri Janjati Adivasi Nyaya Maha Abhiyan (PM JANMAN).

The MNRE recently issued a notification in this regard. The order said that the ministry had received the accord from the President for the rollout of the new scheme from 2023-24 to 2025-26. The ministry has planned to electrify 1 lakh households in PVTG areas in 18 Indian states.

“The Scheme will cover electrification of One Lakh un-electrified households (HHs) in PVTG areas identified by the Ministry of Tribal Affairs (MoTA) and located in 18 States, namely Andhra Pradesh, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Jharkhand, Karnataka, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Manipur, Odisha, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Tripura, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand and West Bengal, and UT of Andaman & Nicobar Islands, by provision of off-grid solar systems where electricity supply through grid is not techno-economically feasible,” the notice from MNRE said.

In addition, the scheme includes a provision for providing solar lighting in 1500 Multi-Purpose Centres (MPCs) in PVTG areas where electricity through grid is not available. As per the scheme’s provisions, there are two components. This includes a provision of 0.3 KW of solar off-grid systems for 1 lakh PVTF households, where the Union government will share 100 percent of the total cost. As per the plan, each household will need Rs 50,000 under the component. The approved financial outlay for the component stands at Rs 500 crore.

On the other hand, the ministry has another component of solar streetlights and provision of lightning in 1500 MPCs of PVTG areas where electricity through the grid is not available. The cost per MPC as per the allocation is Rs 1 lakh. The government has approved Rs 15 crore for the component under the scheme.

The ministry said that the funds for the implementation of this scheme would be met from the DAPST allocation of the MNRE with an overall approved financial outlay of Rs 515 crore and a separate budget line ‘PM JANMAN’ has been opened for this purpose. The ministry has allocated a total of Rs 20 crore for 2023-24, Rs 255 crore for 2024-25 and Rs 240 crore for 2025-26.