GUWAHATI: In a move to tap solar power and reduce the demand-supply mismatch of electricity, Assam Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal has asked the state Power Department to formulate an exhaustive solar power policy for Assam.
Chairing a review meeting of Power Department on Friday, Sonowal said, “A solar policy is the need of the hour to tap the solar power economically and help aiding industrialisation besides ensuring uninterrupted power supply to the consumers”. He also asked Principal Secretary Power Department Jishnu Baruah to take the lead in shaping the solar power policy on a fast track basis so that the same can be tabled in the next cabinet meeting.
Soonowal also pitched in for using the services of local youths as contractors for different works of Power Department. He also asked the Power Department to prepare modalities like imparting training and giving bank loans to the youths for the purpose. Sonowal also took note of the progress of different on-going projects like Lower Kopili Hydroelectric Project, Margherita Thermal Power and Namrup Replacement Projects.
The meeting also discussed on a roadmap for effectively implementing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Saubhagya scheme which envisaged to reduce use of kerosene lamps in non-electrified households by giving last mile power connections across the country. Chief Minister Sonowal also asked the Power Department to prepare a detailed project report for successful implementation of the project to illuminate 25 lakh households in the State through Saubhagya.
