Over 11K and counting: Lko installs highest no of solar rooftops, emerges as front runner

Under the PM Surya Ghar Yojana, launched by the Centre earlier this year, Lucknow has emerged as the front runner by installing the highest number of rooftop solar panels in just seven months, a government spokesman said here on Friday.

Following closely are Varanasi, Kanpur, Agra, and Kanpur Nagar, which make up the top five districts. CM Yogi himself is closely monitoring the progress of this scheme.

Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has set district-specific targets for all 75 districts to install solar rooftop panels on residential buildings.

“Recently, chief secretary Manoj Kumar Singh conducted a review of the PM Surya Ghar Yojana. During the review, it was reported that 11,435 solar rooftop panels have been made operational in Lucknow, the highest in the state,” the spokesman said.

“Varanasi, the parliamentary constituency of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, ranks second with 4,088 installations. In Kanpur, 1,909 panels have been installed, while Agra and Prayagraj have 1,364 and 1,349 installations, respectively,” he added.

The campaign is being accelerated in other districts as well, with the CS directing the electricity department to expedite the work.

In Uttar Pradesh, over 17.75 lakh registrations have been completed under the PM Surya Ghar Yojana so far, with solar rooftop panels installed on more than 32,000 homes. Under this scheme, a subsidy of ₹30,000 is provided by the Central government and ₹15,000 by the state government, totaling ₹45,000 for a 1-kilowatt rooftop installation.

Similarly, for a 2-kilowatt installation, a combined subsidy of ₹90,000 is available, with ₹60,000 from the Centre and ₹30,000 from the State. For installations of 3 kilowatts and above, a total subsidy of ₹1.08 lakh is provided, comprising ₹78,000 from the Central Government and ₹30,000 from the State.

Launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on February 15, 2024, the PM Surya Ghar Yojana aims to harness solar energy by installing rooftop panels on 1 crore homes across the country by 2027.

The CM has set a target to install solar panels on 25 lakh homes in the state. To achieve this, specific targets have been assigned to all seven DISCOMs and each district. CM Yogi Adityanath is personally overseeing the implementation of the scheme to ensure its success,” the spokesman said.