Mandya Villages Enter Model Solar Village Contest Under PM Surya Ghar Scheme

Ten villages across Mandya district have been shortlisted for the Model Solar Village Competition under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana (PMSG-MBY), aimed at boosting renewable energy adoption at the grassroots.

Based on the 2011 Census criteria, only villages with populations above 5,000 were eligible. Accordingly, Kennalu and Gummanahalli (Pandavapura taluk); Belagola and Arakere (Srirangapatna taluk); Keelara and Santhekasalagere (Mandya taluk); Besagarahalli and Kesturu (Maddur taluk); Belakavadi and Kirugavalu (Malavalli taluk) have been selected.

Task Force Committees, led by Panchayat Development Officers (PDOs), will coordinate awareness campaigns and promotional programmes to drive participation. Households will be encouraged to install solar rooftops under PMSG-MBY, while farmers will be motivated to adopt solar pumpsets under Kusum-B. Additionally, support will be extended for land acquisition under Kusum-C, and solar power will be introduced for drinking water supply, street lighting, and government buildings.

The six-month-long competition, which began in July, will conclude with one village being declared the 'Model Solar Village.' The winner will be awarded an incentive of INR 1 crore by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE).

For effective implementation, a district-level committee has been constituted under the chairmanship of the Deputy Commissioner, with the Zilla Panchayat CEO, tahsildars, CESC engineers, and PDOs as members.