J&K govt approves additional subsidy for PM Surya Ghar scheme

Srinagar, July 27 (Scoop News) – The Administrative Council, which met here under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, approved additional grant from the UT budget for implementation of PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana in UT of J&K.

The AC meeting was also attended by Advisor RR Bhatnagar, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo and Principal Secretary to LG Mandeep Bhandari.

In this regard, the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, launched by PM Modi in February 2024, aims to install rooftop solar power plants in households across the country at subsidized prices by March 31, 2027. This will provide these households with up to 300 units of free electricity every month.

Under the scheme, potential beneficiaries are required to pay the full project costs upfront and the Central Financial Assistance (CFA) is paid directly into the beneficiary’s designated account.

As per the additional subsidy approved by the Administrative Council, the subsidy for 1 kW with project cost of Rs. 55000 has been increased to Rs. 36000, for 2 kW with project cost of Rs. 110000 the subsidy has been increased to Rs. 72000 and for 3 kW with project cost of Rs. 159500 the subsidy has been increased to Rs. 94800.

The approval of the proposed project will make the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana more attractive to the beneficiaries, who are mainly from the poor or lower middle class. This will promote self-reliance of subsidized consumers, in line with current needs. Moreover, it will increase the share of green energy in daily consumption, thereby reducing dependence on conventional energy.

In this connection, the government has also provided a loan facility from SBI at an interest rate of 7%. To give a major boost to the scheme, J&K Bank will also be roped in to provide loans. This will facilitate access to finance and increase the penetration of the scheme.

The success of the scheme would get a boost with the completion of smart meters in the rural areas. At this juncture, when energy billing practices are evolving rapidly, the PM-SGMBY is expected to motivate consumers to install SRT systems on their roofs to effectively reduce their household electricity bills.

The provision for additional subsidy under UT Capex will have financial implications of Rs. 53.53 crore for the targeted 87,000 consumers under PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijili Scheme in J&K over a period of three years. The Power Development Department will also engage a quality controller for carrying out the third party inspections of the Solar Roof Top systems.

AC approves Land Pooling and TDR policy for planned development in J&K

NBBC to develop Srinagar Satellite Township

The Administrative Council has approved the Land Pooling Policy and the Transferable Development Rights Policy, which are aimed at boosting the real estate sector in J&K.

The AC meeting was chaired by Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha and attended by Advisor RR Bhatnagar, Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo and Principal Secretary to LG Mandeep Bhandari.

Under the land pooling policy, developers or private land owners have to come together to pool their land and get permission for development. While authorizing the development, the concerned urban authorities have to retain sufficient land for development of infrastructure, wide roads, parks, open spaces and other amenities and the remaining land would be returned to the land owners who would distribute it equally among themselves. The benefits of land pooling to various stakeholders would be that the value of the land would increase for the land owners and better infrastructure would be created as compared to the irregular parcels that are pooled together by the land owners to develop that parcel. The proposed policy would be applicable to notified parcels of 50 hectares and above.

In another development, AC has approved the policy on Grant & Utilization of Transferable Development Rights. Under this scheme, for the land transferred free of cost by a landowner or a developer for public purposes such as road widening, public rights of way, for conservation, heritage and other infrastructure development, non-financial compensation will be given in the form of TDR certificate specifying the Built-Up Area (BUA) or Floor Area Ratio (FAR) given to a landowner or developer which he can utilise in the remaining portion of his property or build elsewhere and even encash by selling TDR to another developer or user in receiving areas. This would enable developers to build above the permissible Floor Area Ratio (FAR) for the land transferred in congested areas. The TDR policy is aimed at expediting the implementation of Master Plan proposals and will be implemented initially in the jurisdiction of the JDA and SDA.

The Administrative Council also approved the proposal of the Housing Department to engage National Building Construction Corporation (NBCC) for expediting the development of Srinagar Satellite Township in Rakh Gund Aksha Bemina, where Srinagar Development Authority would utilise 3,290 kanals of land for construction of residential plots, group housing apartments and 3,200 flats under affordable housing schemes. Satellite Township will have commercial, government offices, green spaces, sports facilities and a 200-star 5-star hotel and the entire project will be completed in phases over a period of 5 years. The decision to engage NBCC for consultancy and as executing agency was taken to expedite the work. It may be recalled that the High Court complex and Medicity are also being constructed in the vicinity of the township.
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