Express News Service
LUCKNOW: Ayodhya is in line for transformation into a solar city as the engineering firm Larsen & Toubro (L&T), involved in the construction of the temple on Ram Janmabhoomi premises, has been asked to prepare a detailed project report.
As per highly-placed sources, the decision to make the temple town a solar city was taken based on its future power requirements.
The makeover of Ayodhya into Navya Ayodhya, the upcoming Ram temple complex and other attractions will strain the power infrastructure, which can be eased by adopting green power, the panels of which would be installed on roof tops, said the sources.
The sources also claimed that the state government was contemplating to amend Solar Policy, 2017, to provide more incentives to residents opting for rooftop solar panels to replicate the Ayodhya model in other cities, especially those of religious importance.
“This will treated as the pilot project in the first phase after which some other cities will also be identified for similar development,” said a senior official Uttar Pradesh New and Renewable Energy Development Agency (UPNEDA) said.
An L&T survey found that Ayodhya’s 3,40,000 population, living in 81,000 households consume 281 million units of power annually.
As per the New and Renewable Energy Development Agency officials, it has a four-pronged strategy in Ayodhya — solar power generation from ground-mounted utility scale and solar plants, arranging solar cooking for community kitchens for devotees visiting the Ram Temple, fulfilling energy requirement of the Shri Ram Temple Complex from solar and other renewable sources.
Simultaneously, the NEDA has also proposed changes to the state’s solar policy, seeking more incentives to encourage people, government, semi-government and commercial bodies to install rooftop panels.
The amendment proposals were sent to the government, which was likely to take a call on the issue soon, said the officials.
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