Punjab deputy chief minister Sukhbir Singh Badal on Monday urged new and renewable energy minister Farooq Abdullah to enhance the Central subsidy for solar water pumping systems for irrigation and allied purposes from Rs 30 per watt to Rs 100 per watt to make the system viable for small and marginal farmers.
In a communiqu? to the minister, Sukhbir pointed out that Punjab had been leading in the installation of solar photovoltaic water pumping system in the country.
He said with the support of the Centre, Punjab had installed maximum number of solar pumps (1,850) during 2001-04, but since the Centre had reduced this subsidy, installing solar water pumps has become unviable for small farmers not only in Punjab, but in the entire country.
Badal pointed out that on one hand, subsidy has been reduced and capped at Rs 50,000, while there has been a substantial rise in the total cost of these systems due to worldwide shortage and enhancement in cost of solar cells. He said the cost of solar water pumping system with 1,900 watt solar array was now around Rs 4 lakh against Rs 2.75 lakh earlier.
It is because of this economic mismatch, no solar water pumping system has been installed in Punjab during last four years or so, he added.
Requesting to enhance Central subsidy from Rs 30 per watt to Rs 100 per watt at par with other SPV Systems, Badal said that enhanced subsidy component system be declared in the new solar power policy under solar mission to be announced by the Central government on November 14, this year.
