Strict action warned against delayed rooftop solar installations; review meeting held with vendors and officials in Rajnandgaon region
Published on: January 09, 2025
By: BTNI
Location: Rajnandgaon, India
Director of the power distribution company, Ram Avatar Pathak, on Friday directed all authorised solar agencies to personally reach out to registered consumers and ensure timely delivery of benefits under the Prime Minister Surya Ghar Free Electricity Scheme. He issued clear instructions to expedite all pending procedures and warned of strict action against vendors showing negligence or undue delay.
Pathak was reviewing the progress of the PM Surya Ghar Free Electricity Scheme during a comprehensive meeting held in Rajnandgaon with authorised solar vendors and departmental officials from Rajnandgaon, Kabirdham, Khairagarh–Chhuikhadan–Gandai, and Mohla–Manpur–Ambagarh Chowki districts. He expressed serious concern over complaints that rooftop solar installations were being delayed even after completion of loan formalities by banks.
The director cautioned that vendors failing to complete installations within the stipulated time would be identified and blacklisted. “Any kind of laxity in the implementation of this flagship scheme will not be tolerated,” he said, adding that FIRs would be registered against vendors who failed to install solar systems at beneficiaries’ homes even after loan approvals for two to three months. Such vendors would also face cancellation of registration and forfeiture of security deposits.
The meeting was attended by Rajnandgaon Regional Executive Director Shirish Selat, State Nodal Officer for PM Surya Ghar Scheme Nargajun Bimbasar, Superintending Engineer Rajnandgaon Circle Shankeshwar Kanwar, Superintending Engineer Kawardha Circle Ranjit Ghosh, along with executive engineers and solar agency operators from all four districts.
State Nodal Officer Nargajun Bimbasar reviewed vendor-wise performance in detail and shared data of registered consumers who had selected vendors on the PM Surya Ghar portal but were not showing interest in rooftop installations. He directed that lists of such consumers be forwarded to REC so their names could be removed from the portal, ensuring accurate national-level progress monitoring. He also suggested displaying photo banners of at least five beneficiaries from each district at divisional, sub-divisional and distribution centres to motivate other consumers to adopt rooftop solar systems.
Executive Director Shirish Selat emphasised that along with revenue recovery, officials should actively encourage domestic consumers to install rooftop solar plants under the scheme. He instructed that lists of consumers consuming more than 300 units of electricity per month be prepared at zone and distribution centre levels and targeted for enrolment under the scheme. He also stressed the need for prompt synchronisation of installed solar systems and close coordination between assistant engineers and vendors to speed up post-installation formalities, including consumer agreements.
The PM Surya Ghar Free Electricity Scheme aims to promote rooftop solar installations by providing easy loans through nationalised banks and reducing household electricity bills. Officials reiterated that effective coordination among banks, vendors and field officers is key to ensuring the scheme’s success and public satisfaction.