Team Goemkarponn
CANACONA: Canacona taluka, with a power requirement of just 25 MW, has the potential to become fully self-reliant in electricity through the Prime Minister’s Surya Ghar and PM-Kusum schemes, said Power Minister Sudhin Dhavalikar.
Addressing the Seva Pakhwada organized by the Goa Energy Development Agency (GEDA) in collaboration with the Department of New & Renewable Energy, Dhavalikar highlighted the benefits of these programs for farmers. “Under the PM-Kusum scheme, pumps will be provided to 700 more farmers across the state. So far, 170 farmers have already received free pumps worth Rs 5 lakh,” he said.
Dhavalikar added, “Large-scale farming is costly today, requiring around 4,000 sq meters of land. By installing solar panels on such land, farmers can generate electricity, which the power department will purchase at Rs 3.71 per unit. While coal-based thermal power faces pollution controversies in Vasco and other areas, solar energy offers a clean alternative.”
During the event, approval letters for the PM Surya Ghar and PM-Kusum schemes were handed over to beneficiaries including Shanta Desai, Pramod Gaonkar, Kiran Desai, Ramakant Naik Gaonkar, Sanjay Desai, Arundhati Naik Gaonkar, Vilas Pawaskar, and Aarti Ajay Bhagat by Dhavalikar and Tawadkar.
Officials present included Rajiv Sawant, Superintendent Engineer of the Electricity Department; Gauresh Pilnarkar; Canacona Deputy Collector Prataprao Naik Gaonkar; Dr. Anita Tilve of Sewa Sankalp; Sewa Sankalp President Babu Komarpant; and other dignitaries.
The Power Minister also inaugurated a solar rooftop project at the girls’ hostel in Loliem, installed under the PM Surya Ghar scheme, marking another step toward sustainable energy adoption in Canacona.
