Srinagar: The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has accused the ruling National Conference (NC) of complicity after the administration directed all the government employees in Kishtwar district to register for Prime Minister Surya Ghar Mufti Bijli Yojana, a centrally sponsored scheme which has received poor response in Jammu and Kashmir.
A circular issued by Kishtwar deputy commissioner (DC) Rajesh Shavan on January 22 noted that the public response in the hill district of Jammu division to the rooftop solar power scheme, which was approved by the Union cabinet on February 29 last year, was “very poor”.
The circular directed all the government employees to register for the scheme in phases within 15 days. “By March 31, 2025 all registered employees shall ensure to install their Roof Top Solar Panels at their designated locations,” it noted.
Senior PDP leader and former lawmaker from Kishtwar, Firdous Tak, said that the administration was forcing the employees to avail the scheme which was “unfair” and termed it as a “blatant misuse of administrative authority”.
“While we strongly support and encourage the adoption of renewable energy for long-term benefits, making rooftop solar installations compulsory for government employees is illogical, unjust, and bad in law. Such a directive should not be implemented in a district where even basic electrification remains incomplete,” he wrote in a letter to chief minister Omar Abdullah, who is also J&K’s power minister.
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Tak said that the administration should focus on the power challenges faced by people in Kishtwar, a power hub of North India where several areas are not connected to the electricity grid and the power demand of 100 MW is one of the lowest in Jammu and Kashmir.
The circular issued by the DC has also caused anguish among the government employees posted in Kishtwar district, some of whom fear that their salaries could be stopped if they don’t sign up for the scheme.
“The government pays me Rs 600 honorarium every month. Where will I get thousands of rupees to apply for the scheme? If I don’t need solar power, why is the government forcing it on me,” said a female community health worker in Kishtwar, who wished to remain anonymous.
Besides the female health workers, known as Asha workers, the Kishtwar administration has also directed the nominally paid village level and anganwadi workers, and daily rated workers of Jal Shakti and Jammu Power Development Corporation Limited, to register for the scheme.
The Wire has reached out to DC Kishtwar for his comment. This story will be updated if and when a response is received.
Last year, the Bhartiya Janta Party-led (BJP-led) Union government set a target of one crore solar rooftop installations across the country by 2027.
According to officials, each beneficiary household would obtain up to 300 units free electricity every month from the rooftop solar panels, which will lead to savings of Rs 15,000-18,000 annual power bill.
The Union government offers 60% subsidy of the solar unit cost for systems up to 2kW capacity and 40% of additional system cost for systems between 2 to 3kW capacity, which is to be borne by the state or Union Territory governments.
“At current benchmark prices, this will mean Rs 30,000 subsidy for 1kW system, Rs 60,000 for 2kW systems and Rs 78,000 for 3kW systems or higher,” according to an official website.
Union power minister Shripad Naik said on Thursday (January 30) that 10 lakh rooftop solar panels are expected to be commissioned by March this year while 20 lakh would be functional by the end of the year.
In Jammu and Kashmir where only 11,000 people have applied for the scheme, chief secretary Atal Dulloo last month held a meeting following which he set a target of 30,000 rooftop solar installations by the end of this fiscal.
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Following this, all the DCs in Kashmir and Jammu divisions of the Union Territory chaired meetings to review the progress of the scheme.
In the summer capital Srinagar, out of 6370 installations proposed under the scheme, only 1400 consumers have applied, according to an official statement, which didn’t disclose the number of installations that have been made operational in the district.
Blaming the government’s lack of stakeholder engagement for low public response to the scheme, Iftikhar Drabu, a civil engineer with nearly 25 years of experience in the power sector, said that just providing the subsidy was not enough.
“A well thought through strategy needs to be developed and propagated to convince general public about the huge benefits of the scheme. The detractor’s propaganda that solar power is not viable for Kashmir needs to be rebutted,” he noted.
“Had the engineers in the power department taken the lead and applied for the scheme, it would have surely boosted the confidence of the general consumer to invest and install rooftop solar units. We need to avail of the scheme while the government subsidy lasts,” Drabu, who has worked with domestic and international contractors in the power sector, added.
