In a first in India, CG launches PMAY houses powered with solar power for tribal households

Raipur: Chhattisgarh rolled out what officials described as a first-of-its-kind model in the country by installing rooftop solar plants on Prime Minister Janman Awas homes of Pahadi Korwa families classified as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group, so that some of the state's poorest tribal households got both a pucca house and virtually zero electricity bills.In the pilot phase, rooftop solar systems were installed on eight houses of Pahadi Korwa families in remote Gudurumuda village of Podi-Uproda block in Korba district. Officials in Chhattisgarh state power distribution company limited (CSPDCL) said this was the first time in the country that PM Janman Awas and PM Suryaghar were formally dovetailed in this manner to deliver both housing and assured solar power to PVTG families.CSPDCL managing director Bhim Singh told TOI that the project flowed to ensure that the benefits of PM Suryaghar reached genuinely needy and remote households taking advantage of PM Awas, PM Janman and DMF to be combined on the ground for PVTG beneficiaries, for the first time ever in the country."By converging the Prime Minister's housing schemes, the Janman Mission and DMF funds, we have connected extremely marginalised tribal families to grid-based rooftop solar. This is just a pilot, but its success will show a new path not just for Chhattisgarh, but for the entire country," Singh said.Under PM Awas-type schemes, the provision was primarily for constructing the house; there was no separate, built-in guarantee of free power connection for all. Similarly, while PM Suryaghar supported rooftop solar, there was no automatic link to beneficiaries of PVTG housing.Each of the eight houses was equipped with one kW rooftop solar plant under PM Suryaghar. The approximate cost of one kW system was Rs 60,000. Of this, around Rs 45,000 was met through central and state subsidies, while the remaining Rs 15,000 was funded from the DMF, which was financed by mining revenues.By pooling these resources, the state created what it called a "permanent pathway" to free, clean electricity for some of the most marginalised families, instead of merely providing a structure and leaving them to struggle with recurring bills.At Gudurumuda, the impact was immediate and tangible. Most Pahadi Korwa families depended on agricultural labour and daily-wage work, with highly erratic incomes."Our life will run on solar now," said the grandson of beneficiary Manglu Ram, whose family received both a house and a rooftop plant. "We survive on farm and labour work. Earlier, it was very difficult for us to pay the electricity bills. Now our needs will be met by solar power and we won't have to spend extra money every month."The family said they had no idea how they could ever afford such a system on their own.Based on its success, similar convergence projects were planned for more PVTG-dominated villages in Korba and, eventually, in other districts with significant vulnerable tribal populations.In regions where grid supply was unreliable and bills were unaffordable, decentralised rooftop solar, backed by targeted subsidies and DMF support, could transform household economics. By wiping out monthly power bills and stabilising access to electricity, the model could free up cash for food, education and health, while also cutting diesel use and promoting clean energy, officials in CSPDCL said.