Soon 54 cities in India will be recognised as solar cities and the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has given its approval in this regards. Farooq Abdullah, union minister, New and Renewable Energy, has informed the Parliament that draft master plans for the solar city project are in place and 28 cities and 8 master plans out of these have been approved by his ministry.
To successfully set-up these master plans, an investment figure of Rs 192.3 million has been approved, out of which Rs 42.2 million has already been disbursed. The master plan comprises preparing Solar City Cells and Promotional Activities for 41 cities, Abdullah said. In addition, an amount of Rs 119.8 million has been sanctioned for executing renewable energy projects in 5 cities and Rs 38.7 million has been released by the concerned State Nodal Agencies or Municipal Corporations, he said.
Abdullah further said that the criteria set by MNRE for identification of cities include a city population between 50,000 to 50 lakh (special category States including North-East States exempted), initiatives and regulatory measures taken along with commitment to promoting energy efficiency and renewable energy.
The Master Plans for 8 cities such as Agra and Moradabad from Uttar Pradesh, Thane and Kalyan-Dombivli from Maharashtra, Indore from Madhya Pradesh, Kohima from Nagaland, Aizawl from Mizoram and Chandigarh have been finalised and the projects are in progress.
