Ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit, the 500-Kilowatt Solar Plant at Palli Panchayat in Jammu and Kashmir’s Samba district has been completed in a record time of 20 days, Union Minister Jitendra Singh said on Tuesday. Singh, accompanied by Central Electronics Limited chairman and Managing director Prakash Jain, visited the plant and inspected the trial run of the newly installed solar plant, which will make the village with about 340 houses the first in the Union Territory to become carbon neutral.
The successful trial run of the solar plant was demonstrated to the minister of state in the Prime Minister’s Office at the site.
“The 500 Kilowatt Solar Plant installed on a total area of 6,408 square metres was completed in 20 days that will provide clean electricity and light to 340 houses in the Panchayat,” the minister said. He said a 25-member team worked round the clock to complete the Rs 2.75 crore project. The electricity generated will be distributed to the village, having a daily requirement of about 2,000 units through the local grid power station.
The Prime Minister will inaugurate the solar plant during his scheduled visit to the Palli Panchayat on National Panchayati Raj Day on April 24. He will also address a gathering, including more than 30,000 Panchayati Raj Institution (PRI) members of Jammu and Kashmir.
PRIs from across the country will also be connected virtually for the Prime Minister’s address.
Around 20 stalls at the exhibition venue of the Prime Minister’s programme are being put up by various departments and wings of the Union Ministry of Science and Technology, which will display the latest technologies and innovations beneficial for rural areas and farming. Singh said a series of meetings were held in New Delhi between Union Ministers Jitendra Singh and Giriraj Singh to fine-tune exhibition themes for the Modi’s Jammu event during the last fortnight.
Some of the themes identified — poverty and enhanced village livelihood, Healthy village, Child-friendly village, Water sufficient village, Clean and green village, Self-sufficient infrastructure in the village, Engendered development in the village to be implemented by different departments of the Science Ministry — will bring about a revolutionary transformation in augmenting the household income of the rural populace, he said.
The minister said stalls demonstrating best agriculture practices — be it DBT’s Bio-Tech Kisan Scheme, drone farming — would be supplemented by the Centre’s and UT government’s innovative initiatives for the welfare of farmers. Stalls exhibiting Aroma Mission and Purple Revolution, Floriculture mission, modern uses of Bamboo, waste-water management will also be set up, he said, adding that stalls showcasing the integration of Science and Technology with the themes of Rural Development and Panchayati Raj will be put up for the benefit of the common person. The minister said instead of having conventional stalls at the event, efforts are being made to showcase the latest technology, which can add value to farmers’ income and science-based demonstration with Panchayati Raj features.
Among important innovations planned to be showcased are geospatial technology for rural development and farmers, apps usable by farmers for the weather forecast for five days, lavender cultivation — famously known as the purple revolution, biotechnology innovation to increase the produce of apple, drone application for pesticide spray and waste treatment and shelf life of fruits to be increased through atomic radiation.
