Saturday, October 04, 2014: The Rajasthan state government is gearing up to meet the solar power production target of 25MW in next five years and in the process the Rajasthan solar policy, 2011, has undergone certain amendments. During the first week of October, the revised version is expected to be announced and implemented too.
The major changes in the policy include, a provision of allowing land owners to lease their lands for solar production for 30 years which can be extended to 10 more years, on a basis of mutual agreement. The state government, in order to include this provision in the solar policy, has already passed amendments in Rajasthan Tenancy Act 1955. Another major change is to reduce the net worth of a company which is planning to set up a project and a reduction in the security deposit amount by 50 per cent.
According to a senior official from Rajasthan Renewable Energy Corporation (RREC), the government will encourage both small and large-scale projects to meet the target and in case of big ticket projects, customised packages will be provided whereas more relaxed guidelines will be set for smaller ones. The government has also set time limit for environmental clearance from Rajasthan pollution control board so that solar plants gets commissioned as fast as possible. The projects will get NOC in just 15 days’ time and if land is owned by government, developers will start construction within three months.
But there is a roll-back on incentives for project installations. Earlier the companies had to pay 10 per cent of the DLC rates but now they have to pay the full price. This move is expected to impact several queued projects and project set-up costs are also due to increase. As the revised policy is all set, the ball is now in the Chief Minister’s court, to unveil and implement the same.
