Friday, May 18, 2013: Greenpeace alleges that the central government hasn’t taken any step to harness the power of solar energy, right when the country is suffering from power crisis all over and the summers are inviting and blazing for an alternative source.
On Wednesday, the allegations took another shape as Greenpeace activists gathered outside Power Minister, Haroon Yusuf house in a protest to speed up the issue.
The activists brought some solar panels and chained themselves to it showing the urgent need for the country to harness the renewable resource. Later they were able to confront the minister and made him promise progress in regards to the renewable energy policy.
However, they also claimed that though the minister did understand the crux of the situation, the minister was not promising any deadline on the project. The recommendations are to be forwarded to Delhi Electricity Regulatory Commission.
The tagline of the protest read “Switch on the sun”. The 2-3 Kw panels that were brought into the protest grounds were capable of lighting up Yusuf’s home requirements. The panels sarcastically were also handed over to the minister in order to both urge and pressurize him.
Anand Prabhu Pathanjali, a campaigner for Greenpeace, however, said that the minister showed no signs to work on the energy crisis that the city is facing. He hardly knows how to fill up the gap between the stringent supply and the growing demand of the city.
Under the RPO mechanism, every Indian state needs to set strict deadlines for the implementation. However, it is just 7 of the total of 29 Indian states who have come forward and this included Delhi whose position has improved just 0.01 per cent since the previous year.
