Bescom region fails to warm up to solar scheme

Bengaluru: The initial enthusiasm shown by applicants for the government’s rooftop solar panel installation scheme is not translating into ground results as only around 7 per cent of the 75,000 applications received by Bescom have resulted in installations, according to data obtained by DH.

Bescom officials said that while many residents applied for the PM Surya Ghar Yojana, only a few took interest in following it up. On the other hand, citizens complained of procedural delays, cumbersome processes and overheads, which made them lose interest in the process.

“I applied for the scheme and was then directed for vendor selection. However, vendors quoted exorbitant prices which were way higher than what I had estimated. They also said that they had to bribe the Bescom officials and hence the price was high. After speaking to some vendors I decided that it was not worth pursuing,” said Vaishnav (name changed), a resident of RR Nagar.

Kochu Sankar, who runs a volunteer group called ‘Citizens for green energy homes’, said that many vendors misguided people and this was the only problem in the entire process. Usually a bill amounting to close to Rs 1 lakh deters many, he said.

While the payment process is clear, many applicants do not get an estimate of cost at the time of applying.

“There are close to 400 vendors empanelled by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE). However, many of these vendors themselves are unaware of the process and many others try to take advantage of the applicants. Instead of building confidence among the applicants, they misguide them and sometimes quote heavy charges, driving people away from the scheme,” he added.

The volunteer group has helped over 100 households install solar panels under the scheme and said that guidance and help with regard to vendor selection and talks with the vendor were crucial in ensuring better results.

The scheme provides up to Rs 30,000 subsidy for 1 kW installation, Rs 60,000 for 2 kW installations and maximum subsidy of Rs 78,000 for any installation over 2 kW.

Meanwhile, Bescom officials pointed at a lack of interest among people to know about the scheme completely.

“The scheme is called the PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana. People just see the word ‘mufti’ and assume that they get the installations for free and apply for the scheme without looking into the details. Hence, when they reach the vendor selection stage and realise that they have to pay up over Rs 1 lakh from their pocket, they are taken aback,” a senior Bescom official said.

That apart, the Karnataka government’s Gruha Jyothi scheme which provides free power to residential establishments has also impacted the programme.

“Many of them feel that such a huge investment when they are getting free power is a waste of resources. Hence, they drop out after getting to know the extent of investment,” the Bescom official added.

Data showed that a large number of applications were received from districts other than Bengaluru. Many residents from Chitradurga, Kolar and Davanagere have applied for the scheme, but didn’t follow it up, leading to poor implementation. For instance, in Kolar, where over 12,000 applications were received, only 66 of them have been converted into installations on ground. Similar is the case with many other districts.

Officials said that awareness among people outside Bengaluru on the modalities of the scheme was lower and many of them backed out as soon as they realised the scheme was not completely free.