Sarthak Kanjilal
Port Blair, June 28: Schemes introduced by the Government of India, under Jawaharlal Nehru Solar Mission to promote renewable sources in the islands has failed to impress islanders.
Under the Scheme the Government of India provides subsidized loan for public, who are willing install solar home lighting and solar water heating system in their building to tap the solar energy and save electricity but the implementation of the scheme is so poor that till now only one person has got benefit of this scheme in Andaman and Nicobar Islands. As per norms the loan is provided through NABARD, via local Banks.
People who are willing to install such system in their building allege that banks are not providing loans for installing such devices, even if they are eligible for a loan.
“I have approached UCO bank, SBI Haddo branch but these banks refused to give me load for installation of solar home lighting and solar water heating system in my new building,” complained an Islander.
Though Banks are not showing much interest in this scheme the NABARD looked positive in promoting renewable source and these schemes.
Talking to Andaman Sheekha, the Deputy General Manager Mr. Ananthakrishnan said that NABARD does not provide any direct loan for such purposes but only subsidy to customers on loans, taken from any bank.
“The customer should first apply for a loan from any commercial bank and after sanction of the loan amount, the bank will apply us for providing the subsidy, and then we will provide subsidy,” Mr. Ananthakrishanan said.
When asked what action the NABARD can take against the bank which are not giving loan for this purpose, the DGM added that NABARD can’t take any action against any bank.
“We don’t have authority. But if people have any such complaints against any bank, they can approach the Union Territory Level Bankers Committee (UTLBC),” he added.
Sources told Andaman Sheekha that if such systems are installed in a building, people gets Rs. 1 deduction per unit in electricity charges, which is a great saving but it seems that due to proper awareness and lack of coordination between various departments, people are unable to get any benefit from this scheme.
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