Not that Jammu city by all means deserves to be a full solar city but the need thereof too having been practically felt by the Union Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, sanction therefore being on cards as approval stands in principle having been accorded, needs a proper structure of planning and execution thereof. It is learnt that a provision for the same to meet the cost of rooftop solar plants and installation etc, has been kept in the budget for the current financial year. Since it is a new mode of generating and distributing of power, general awareness about the most economical, eco-friendly and non conventional generating and supplying of electricity, in the public is paramount. That an initiative has been started in identifying a good number of some Government buildings numbering over 200 denotes the seriousness of late though accorded to the project by the Government as 32 of those have already been provided with rooftop solar power plants. Let it be implemented in a target oriented manner which should include massive awareness as also motivating more and more people towards owning and adopting solar power for general use coupled with quite satisfactory post installation services and repairs exactly in the manner problems occurring in conventional modes, are attended to.
It has to be emphasised that solar power alone is the answer to gigantic future power needs primarily because it is a competitive energy source and importantly by nature cent percent inexhaustible energy which is renewable and virtually free. It does not pollute air and reduces also the use of fossil fuels. It is, however, reflective on the nature of the policy of the UT Government that people, more or less, are not made familiar with tremendous advantages of solar power .Not only within municipal limits, therefore, of Jammu city but gradually covering more areas outside to get benefitted with the solar power should be planned in the comprehensive policy of the UT Government while the Union Ministry is hopefully expected to be not found wanting in extending all help and cooperation in promoting solar power in Jammu and Kashmir. It may, however, be recalled that the fate of much talked of installing of solar power plants duly supported by budgetary funds allocations to tap solar energy on a wide scale has been oscillating between lack of Governmental interest, defective pre-installation surveys and choosing of land, inadequate technical know-how, entrusting the new task to the UT Power Development Department and not to a separate agency and last but not least, improper monitoring. Interestingly, even after “suitable land” having been identified, the project could not reach the ultimate stage of take off because the land chosen was subsequently found to be defective and not feasible. That denotes defective quality of survey made for the most difficult and probably time consuming job of identifying the land having as such cast long shadows on the project.
Agreeably, Jammu and Kashmir has still a huge potential for Hydro power generation but looking to the enormous cost involved and the time taken in building the requisite infrastructure for that, tapping solar power which is abundantly available, is not only comparatively cheap but less time consuming in installation, quite easy to maintain and ideally suitable for remote areas that are not connected to conventional power grids or doing so is quite high on cost factor. Therefore, land stands identified at places in Jammu and Kashmir like at Pampore, Kalakote and Kawa to begin with, for purposes of installing the solar power plants but till date, no headway has been made except, of course, some elementary work in Pampore only and nothing beyond, implying kalakote and Kawa ”drawing a blank” even anything to start with while on the other hand whatever portion of land at Samba and Kathua was identified for solar plants is found defective.
However, some type of managerial wisdom having later dawned on the UT Government in deciding to entrusting the job to the concerned agency like Jammu and Kashmir Energy Development Agency (JAKEDA) which has shown promise by its performance to some extent especially in respect of roof top solar power plants which it has started doing right away generating hopes that some direction having been now given to the most useful and much required project of promoting solar power. Let the Government not exclude the services of the PDD but direct a close cooperation and working in tandem between the JAKEDA and PDD so that the solar power generation and direct use thereof does not remain a distant dream, funds are there, support and technical advice too is ensured, what is needed, therefore, is administrative keen interest and monitoring.
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