JK Targets 83,500 Rooftop Solar Units by 2027; 8,046 Installed So Far

SRINAGAR: Jammu and Kashmir has completed 8,046 rooftop solar installations with a total capacity of 30.07 MW under the PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana. Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo fixed monthly targets of 2,000 installations for JPDCL and 1,000 for KPDCL to speed up the implementation of the scheme.

The directive came during a high-level review meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary to assess the current status of the flagship programme across the Union Territory. Dulloo expressed concern over the slow pace of installations and instructed both DISCOMs to commission installed units without delay so that beneficiaries can start receiving free electricity as promised under the scheme.

Dulloo also directed the Power Development Department to ramp up public awareness through aggressive Information, Education and Communication (IEC) campaigns and to mobilise registered applicants to ensure timely adoption of the programme.

Principal Secretary PDD, Rajesh Prasad, informed the meeting that 64,080 applications had been received on the official portal so far, with 582 empanelled vendors working across districts. He said that the government had credited Rs 50.78 crore as central subsidy and Rs 2 crore as UT subsidy to consumers. Loan disbursals by banks have totalled Rs 103.43 crore, including Rs 56.90 crore for JPDCL and Rs 46.53 crore for KPDCL consumers.

JK has voluntarily set a target of 83,500 residential installations by March 31, 2027 — 39,500 for JPDCL and 44,000 for KPDCL — despite no state-specific target set by the Government of India. Monitoring is being conducted at district, divisional and UT levels at regular intervals.

The meeting was informed that nearly 34.87 lakh consumers had been reached through SMS campaigns. JPDCL and KPDCL have conducted 525 and 410 IEC events respectively. In addition, multiple channels, including print, electronic, social media and outdoor campaigns, have been deployed to raise awareness. Special help desks have resolved hundreds of consumer and vendor grievances.

On the solarisation of government buildings, Secretary Science & Technology Shahid Iqbal Choudhary informed that 22,494 buildings had been identified, with 12,994 covered under CAPEX mode and 9,500 under RESCO mode by NHPC and JAKEDA. As of July 21, 2025, 5,331 buildings have been solarised under the CAPEX model, adding 48.84 MW capacity.

CEO JAKEDA, PN Dhar, added that work orders had been issued for 3,809 additional buildings, with material already delivered for 18 MW and installations completed at 602 sites (9.4 MW). Another 685 sites are currently under active installation.

Concluding the meeting, Dulloo called for urgent removal of bottlenecks and fast-tracking of pending installations to meet clean energy and sustainability goals within the stipulated timeframe.