Hyderabad: Kodangal mandal in Telangana, which falls within chief minister A Revanth Reddy’s Assembly constituency, is being developed as what officials describe as India’s first Solar Model Mandal under an initiative aimed at expanding rooftop solar power generation across the region.
TGREDCO Vice Chairman and Managing Director Musharraf Faruqui reviewed the progress of the programme during a meeting held at the KADA office in Kodangal under the chairmanship of District Collector Deepak Tiwari. The meeting was attended by KADA Special Officer Venkata Reddy, the Municipal Chairman, TGSPDCL Director Dr Narasimhulu, TGREDCO General Manager GSV Prasad, public representatives, officials from various departments and project vendors.
According to TGREDCO officials, approvals have been accorded for rooftop solar installations for 5,186 electricity service connections covered under the Gruhajyothi Scheme in Kodangal mandal. Of these, 2,418 service connections have been found technically feasible for rooftop solar systems.
Officials said nearly 2,000 rooftop solar systems have already been installed, and the remaining installations are expected to be completed within the next month.
The rooftop solar installations are being executed by Claro Energy Limited and Hindustan Enterprises.
During the review meeting, Faruqui said that while model solar villages are being implemented in different parts of the country, Kodangal is being developed as a Solar Model Mandal covering an entire mandal, an initiative he said was being undertaken for the first time in India.
He called on public representatives, government departments, vendors and residents to coordinate to complete the project within the proposed timeline.
Several sarpanches and public representatives informed the meeting that beneficiary lists for their villages were not readily available. In response, officials were directed to provide village-wise beneficiary details to the respective sarpanches through KADA officials and to keep local representatives informed about the progress of the works.
Faruqui also instructed vendors to adhere to quality and technical standards during installation works, including proper grouting of mounting structures, effective earthing, adequate lightning protection and the installation of solar panels in locations free from shadow interference.
TGSPDCL officials asked to expedite works
Officials of TGSPDCL were asked to expedite the installation of net meters and complete grid synchronisation to enable beneficiaries to start using the rooftop solar systems without delay.
Following the review meeting, Faruqui, along with the District Collector and other officials, inspected rooftop solar installations in the field.
