Gandhinagar, Oct 21 (IANS) More than three lakh families in Gujarat will benefit from an additional state subsidy for rooftop solar systems, with general-category households required to pay only 10 per cent of the installation cost and those belonging to Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes (SC/ST) just five per cent, the state government announced on Wednesday.
The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
"The state government is expected to spend around Rs 1,000 crore on the additional subsidy under the Centre's 'PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana'," spokesperson minister Jitu Vaghani said.
The subsidy will apply to residential rooftop solar systems with capacities of up to 2 kW. After deducting the assistance available from the Centre and the beneficiary's contribution, the state government will cover the remaining cost.
Under the revised arrangement, a general-category household installing a 1 kW system, with a benchmark cost of Rs 54,000, will pay Rs 5,400, while an SC/ST household will pay Rs 2,700.
The Centre's contribution is Rs 32,400, with the state government providing an additional subsidy of Rs 16,200 for general-category beneficiaries and Rs 18,900 for SC/ST beneficiaries.
For a 2 kW system, benchmarked at Rs 1,07,200, the beneficiary's contribution will be Rs 10,720 for the general category and Rs 5,360 for SC/ST households.
The Central Government provides Rs 62,800 towards the cost, while the state subsidy will amount to Rs 33,600 for general-category beneficiaries and Rs 38,960 for SC/ST beneficiaries.
"The decision is aimed at making rooftop solar installations more affordable and allowing more households to reduce their dependence on conventional electricity," he said.
Gujarat has so far recorded more than 14 lakh households installing solar systems on their rooftops, according to the state government.
Of these, more than 8.5 lakh installations have been made under the PM Surya Ghar scheme, placing the state first nationally under the programme.
The scheme is intended to help households reduce their electricity bills through rooftop solar generation.
Families can also earn income by supplying surplus electricity, subject to the applicable arrangements.
