J&K achieves 55.24% of PM Surya Ghar rooftop solar target

46,133 residential rooftops installed; CS Dulloo directs agencies to remove financing, vendor, metering and PPA bottlenecks

Srinagar, October 7: Jammu and Kashmir has achieved 55.24 per cent of its target under the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, with 46,133 residential rooftops solarised against the Union Territory’s target of 83,500 installations by March 31, 2027.

Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo reviewed the progress of the solarisation programme on Tuesday and directed the Power Development Department (PDD) and implementing agencies to address bottlenecks affecting installations, particularly bank financing, vendor availability, metering and execution of power purchase agreements (PPAs).

The progress in J&K is higher than the national achievement of 50.80 per cent, the meeting was informed.

Taking note of the high rejection rate of bank loans, Dulloo directed the Discoms to take up all rejected cases with the concerned banks, ascertain the reasons for rejection and resolve the issues immediately so that eligible consumers are not denied the benefits of rooftop solarisation because of financing-related bottlenecks.

He also directed the Discoms to proportionately distribute vendors across districts to ensure adequate availability of service providers and accelerate rooftop solar installations.

The Chief Secretary sought district-wise progress from the Deputy Commissioners, who attended the meeting through video conferencing, and asked them to identify and resolve impediments to achieving assigned targets through coordinated intervention of the concerned agencies.

According to the meeting, 89,680 applications have been received against the target of 83,500 installations. Of these, 82,591 applicants have selected vendors, 69,460 consumer agreements have been uploaded and 42,686 rooftop solar systems have been commissioned.

The cumulative rooftop solar capacity installed across J&K has reached 165.24 MW. Of the total installations, 17,809 have been completed in Jammu Power Distribution Corporation Limited (JPDCL) areas, with a capacity of 62.69 MW, while 28,324 installations have been completed in Kashmir Power Distribution Corporation Limited (KPDCL) areas, with a capacity of 102.55 MW.

The meeting was informed that ₹344.14 crore in Central subsidy and ₹13 crore in UT subsidy have so far been credited to beneficiaries.

Bank financing remains a major bottleneck

Around 75 per cent of rooftop solar installations in KPDCL areas are dependent on bank financing, the meeting was informed.

Of 61,566 loan applications submitted, 17,416 have been rejected, including 14,232 in KPDCL areas. A total of 38,773 cases have been sanctioned and disbursed, while 5,367 cases are under process.

Dulloo directed the Discoms to work with banks to resolve rejected applications and ensure that financing does not delay eligible rooftop solar installations.

8,850 government buildings solarised

Reviewing solarisation of government buildings, the meeting was informed that 8,850 buildings have already been solarised against a CAPEX target of 12,994 buildings, with a combined capacity of 95.64 MW.

Of these, 4,793 buildings have been covered under PM Surya Ghar and hybrid projects, with a capacity of 41.50 MW, while 4,057 buildings have been solarised under the ongoing programme, with a capacity of 54.14 MW.

Work on the remaining projects is at different stages. Materials have been supplied to 1,300 buildings, implementation is underway at 943 sites and surveys are in progress for another 1,901 buildings.

Under the RESCO mode, JAKEDA has proposed solarisation of 8,000 government buildings with a cumulative capacity of 152 MW. Work orders have already been placed for 5,185 buildings.

The meeting was also informed that NHPC has proposed solarisation of 1,500 government buildings with a capacity of 23 MW under the RESCO arrangement.

A Power Purchase Agreement for 8 MW has already been signed for the Health and Medical Education Department in Jammu, while a survey for solarisation of School Education Department buildings in Jammu is underway.

Dulloo directs faster metering and PPAs

The Chief Secretary directed JAKEDA to coordinate with the respective Discoms for simultaneous installation of meters so that metering does not become a bottleneck after rooftop solar systems are installed on government buildings.

He directed the PDD to ensure installation of smart meters at the earliest to facilitate commissioning and operation of already installed rooftop solar systems.

Dulloo also directed the concerned departments to complete the required PPAs expeditiously, stressing that administrative and procedural formalities should progress alongside physical implementation.

He asked JAKEDA to give greater focus to the RESCO mode, observing that progress under this component was slow and needed to be accelerated through closer monitoring and timely resolution of implementation issues.

The Chief Secretary called for time-bound action and close coordination among agencies to sustain the pace of solarisation, with particular emphasis on resolving financing, vendor availability, metering, PPA and project-execution bottlenecks.

The meeting was attended by Additional Chief Secretary, Power; Commissioner Secretary, Science and Technology; Managing Directors of JPDCL and KPDCL; Chief Engineers; CEO JAKEDA and other concerned officers. Deputy Commissioners participated through video conferencing.