421 families awaiting subsidy for rooftop solar plants for 4 years

A retired officer, Lt Col Birbal Sharma (retd), told The Indian Express, “We are yet to receive the subsidy despite the initial assurance that it would be given immediately.” The family had installed the rooftop solar power plant of 3kwp at their residence in Sector 33 in 2019 and hasn’t yet received a subsidy of Rs 45,000.

In August, CREST had stated that the Centre had cleared the pending dues of Rs 3.25 crore for 412 families and it was to be released within a week. However, October is here and the families are still awaiting it. In order to generate green energy, the Centre had given its nod for giving a subsidy to all those who install rooftop solar plants. The amount was increased from 30 per cent to 40 per cent for rooftop solar plants up to 3 kWp capacity in August 2019.

There are many residents who had got rooftop solar plants installed in 2019 but even after four years, they are awaiting the subsidy.
The house owners had been frequenting the office of CREST for the subsidy that was promised to them on the installation of the solar power plants. However, the department had been turning away everyone citing administrative reasons at the end of the ministry for the release of the funds.

Although as per rules, the subsidy amount should be deposited in the account of the resident a month after he pays the entire cost of the solar plant, residents had been waiting for almost four years.

A senior official from the CREST said, “In fact, we too had got a communication that grant would be released by the first week of August and we were to release it then immediately. Now again we haven’t heard anything. So we too are waiting for the response.”

Now Resco model in place

Now Chandigarh is the first in the country to introduce the RESCO model. A third party under Renewable Energy Services Company (RESCO) under the build, operate and transfer (BOT) model will install solar power plant on consumer’s premises and it will also bear the installation and commissioning costs of the system. As per the model, the power generated will be first supplied to and consumed by the house owner while the excess power will be fed to the common grid.

As per the terms and conditions, house owners will have to give space on the rooftop to the firm and they will get electricity at the rate of Rs 3.23 per unit during the BOT period. The CREST, which has been designated as an executing agency for renewable energy projects of the Department of Science and Technology, UT, had filed a petition before the JERC, seeking approval for this model, which was given later.

Under the new model, however, the house owner will have to provide nearly 500 sq ft of space for the installation of a 5kWp solar plant. The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy had enhanced the city’s solar power generation target from 69 MW, to be achieved by 2022, to 75 MW, to be met by 2023.