Chandigarh, July 26 – Haryana Minister of State for New and Renewable Energy, Dr. Banwari Lal said that under a special scheme, 50,000 solar pumps will be given to farmers and gaushalas in the state with the assistance of NABARD. About Rs 1,696 crore will be spent on this scheme.

Dr. Banwari Lal was speaking in the state-level launch and distribution program of ‘Manohar Jyoti Ghar Prakash Pranali’ in Kadipur village of district Mahendragarh today.

On this occasion Dr. Banwari Lal announced Rs 21 lakh for park in village Kadipuri and MLA, Mr. Om Prakash Yadav announced to give Rs. 20 lakh for the development of the village.

Dr. Banwari Lal said that about 238 MW of green energy will be generated in the state with the installation of these solar pumps. This will not only save the diesel used to run the pump, but also prevent pollution caused by the diesel pump. He said that providing the cheapest energy is the priority of the government. A solar energy-based project of about 413 MW capacity has been set up by the government in the state. The State Government has approved 672 MW of Solar projects, which will be completed this year.

He said that in order to increase the income of the farmers, the government has prepared a draft for pilot project in districts Karnal and Yamunanagar with the aim of reducing the electricity subsidy provided in the agriculture sector. Under this scheme, 11 agricultural feeders have been selected, under which 468 electricity based tube wells will be converted into energy-based tube wells. The extra electricity produced from these solar energy-based tube wells will be provided to the farmers. About Rs 26 crore is estimated to be spent on this scheme, he added.

Dr. Banwari Lal said that Haryana is an agricultural state and there is great potential for the production of clean energy from agricultural waste. Burning of crop stubble leads to excessive pollution and to deal with this, the government is implementing a scheme of about 50 MW power generation. Under this, such projects are being set up in districts Kurukshetra, Kaithal, Jind and Fatehabad, which will provide additional income to the farmers.

He said that apart from this, the Haryana Government is also considering the proposal for setting up of Agro-Based Bio-ethanol and Bio-CNG Plants in the state. For this, an agreement has been signed with Indian Oil. The Indian Oil has so far given approval to set up 14 such projects in the state. This step of the government will help the farmers to cope up with the environmental pollution and would also provide benefit to them.