Solar power to light up smart villages in Rajasthan

JAIPUR: Close on the heels of smart cities, the state government is planning to develop

smart villages

. The ambitious plan envisages

developing play grounds

,

street lights

and

lifting garbage

in nearly 10, 000 gram panchayats headquarters in the state.

The government is planning to exploit the solar energy in a big way to light up the rural villages and accordingly solar panels would be installed at the panchayat headquarters. It would power street lights as conventional power supply in far-flung villages is a huge task for the government.

The government has decided to rope in IIT Bombay for smart village project, said an official. IIT Bombay will provide technical support for solar project. According to officials, IIT Bombay would provide technical assistance for installation, maintenance and designing solar lighting system to maintain uniformity. Sources said the solar panels had to be acquired through a tender process.

“Rajasthan has abundant sunlight throughout the year to generate solar energy and exploiting this solar power is the way forward for the state in rural electrification,” said an official.

The rural development and panchayat raj department is now preparing the action plan for the project. However, who will foot the bill for the project is yet to be decided.

At an individual level an effort in this direction has already been initiated by Jaipur rural MP and union minister Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore in his parliamentary constituency. He said all the villages in his constituency will have playgrounds in the next two years and lighting facilities for playing at night in selected villages will also be there. Rathore plans to organize sport activities throughout the year.