Moradabad set to be a solar city

Moradabad is one of the 60 cities in the country chosen by the government of India for the project and according to district officials,the work on the first phase will begin by July.

Solar city,one of the major projects of the ministry,has been prepared under the 11th Five Year Plan. The project will not only help in bringing down the power consumption but also make optimum use of solar energy.

Moradabad Municipal Corporation (MMC) has already started the project on trial basis and has converted the power supply to corporation office and a tubewell,catering to a population of 18,500,into solar power.

Talking to The Indian Express,Municipal Commissioner,Moradabad Lalji Rai said,“Only Agra and Moradabad from UP have been chosen for the project and Moradabad is the first-phase city. We were given Rs 10 lakh for the trial. We took up the challenge and now corporation office,along with a tubewell,use solar power.”

Rai said the project is estimated to cost Rs 10 to 35 crore. “Since the funds have been restrained to Rs 35 crore,we are trying to take up those areas where consumption is really high,” he said.

The corporation has also formed a solar city cell. “We have got the sites identified by a Mumbai-based firm,which will help us to identify the approximate costs. We will now appoint a consultant by mid-June for preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR),after which we will prepare a master plan. We will send the master plan for getting funds to the Union ministry in July,” said Rai.