PM Modi’s push for solar rooftops through ‘Muft Bijli Yojana’ hits technical hurdles

People are not able to register themselves for benefits of the scheme through the registration portal and the mobile application.

Hyderabad: The much-hyped national scheme for residential rooftop solar, the ‘PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana‘ is facing technical hurdles. People are not able to register themselves for benefits of the scheme through the registration portal and the mobile application.

For the last one month, vendors involved in installation of these projects and giving an impetus to the government scheme, have been struggling. Several of them have complained about the delay in the application process, tracking and executing other works through the central portal. Even in Telangana, people are finding it difficult to register themselves through the portal. It is estimated that over 5,000 applications are pending in the greater Hyderabad area alone.

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“We are facing a lot of issues with the PM Surya Ghar scheme in Telangana. Portal is not been working for one month. Subsidies are not disbursed to customers. Portal is not accepting for Apartments and Societies Rs.18,000 per kilowatt scheme. There are a lot of issues and pending problems with the portal,” Telangana Solar Energy Association president Ashok Kumar Goud said.

The inability to register in the portal ultimately has led to delays in project executions. Several leading vendors working in multiple States have blamed the technical glitches in the website for the delays. In fact, Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari on June 21 wrote a letter to Minister of New and Renewable Energy Pralhad Joshi requesting him to resolve the issue at the earliest as the people were suffering.

In fact, All India Renewable Energy Association(AIREA) founder director Amit Deotale on Monday has launched a hunger strike in Nagpur demanding the Centre to rectify the technical issues and restore the normal functioning of the portal.

The National Portal for Rooftop Solar is important for the consumers, vendors, discoms and the government too. This is the centralized system where consumers sitting anywhere in the country can register to get the benefits under the subsidized residential rooftop solar. The consumers use the portal to apply, find and select their vendors and also to get the central subsidies after submitting all relevant documents. The portal also enlists the financiers who are ready to finance the rooftop solar projects.

The “PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana” provides for a subsidy of 60 percent of the solar unit cost for systems up to 2 kW capacity and 40 percent of additional system cost for systems between 2 to 3 kW capacity. The subsidy has been capped at 3 kW capacity. At current benchmark prices, this will mean Rs. 30,000 subsidy for 1 KW system, Rs. 60,000 for 2 KW systems and Rs. 78,000 for 3 KW systems or higher.