At least 4,000 households in Chandigarh have been served notices by the Union Territory (UT) administration, warning them of “resumption” or taking away of their property if rooftop solar power plants are not installed within two months. The notice has led to backlash from residents while Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari has called the move “coercive.”
The notices, sent to owners of homes of 500 sq yard and above by UT estate department recently, have asked for installation of plants within two months under the Chandigarh Building Rules (Urban).
On Tuesday, Tewari posted on ‘X,’ “A substantial number of citizens of Chandigarh are upset about coercive notices to install roof top solar plants or their properties would be resumed. They are not against renewables, but they are against coercion and they are right.”Residents expressed anger at a meeting on ‘PM Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana,’ a new scheme by Cent- re for subsidy on solar rooftop systems. Federation of Sectors Welfare Association-Chandigarh (Foswac) chairman Baljinder Singh Sandhu, who attended the meeting, said, “Residents should be free to opt for rooftop solar power plants.
It involves major financial costs, which many may not be able to afford. Such notices are a scare tactic so that people opt for recently launched Central govt scheme.”
A senior UT official said, “Final extension was given till March 2021 . Now, Centre is running PM Surya Ghar-Muft Bijli Yojana, which people should avail.”
Sources said though installation of rooftop solar power plants was made mandatory in May 2016, response from residents was poor due to high capex cost.
