Govt approves plan to develop 50 solar cities

Soltage-GreenwoodSolarWalpoleMAThe Ministry of New and Renewable Energy approved a master plan to develop 50 solar cities.

The cities include New Delhi, Agra, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Amritsar, New Town (Kolkata), Howrah, Madhyamgram, Kochi and Bhopal, according to report.

The master plans have been prepared for 46 cities, including Agra, Gandhinagar, Rajkot, Surat, Thane, Shirdi, Nagpur, Aurangabad, Imphal, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Bilaspur, Raipur, Agartala, Guwahati, Jorhat, Mysore, Shimla, Hamirpur, Jodhpur, Vijayawada, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Dehradun, Panaji and New Delhi (NDMC area).

Further, in-principle approvals have been given to five cities i.e. Thiruvananthapuram, Jaipur, Indore, Leh and Mahbubnagar.

According to the ministry, the Solar City programme aims
• To enable and empower Urban Local Governments to address energy challenges at City – level.
• To provide a framework and support to prepare a Master Plan including assessment of current energy situation, future demand and action plans.
• To build capacity in the Urban Local Bodies and create awareness among all sections of civil society.
• To involve various stakeholders in the planning process.
• To oversee the implementation of sustainable energy options through public – private partnerships.