Despite 45,000 Hectares of Agricultural Land in Delhi, No Field Has Solar Pumps

India's capital, Delhi, is lagging in promoting solar energy, as compared to the neighboring states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana. While farming is being practiced on 45,000 hectares of land in Delhi, there is not a single solar pump. When the farmers were asked about this, they said that the problem was that the Delhi government does not consider them to be farmers. Therefore, unlike other states, farmers here are not able to get the subsidy for solar irrigation.

Kuldeep Arya, a resident of Jaunti village located in the outer regions of northwest Delhi, says that whenever a farmer wants to buy a tractor he goes to Haryana because in Delhi it is categorized as a commercial vehicle. They identify the contradiction, claiming that they are all getting the direct cash transfer via the Samman Nidhi of the central government (a welfare scheme that provides farmers up to 6,000 rupees per year as minimum income support), however they are told that the PM Kusum Yojana (which provides subsidies to farmers for solar-operated water pumps) is not applicable. Interestingly, the government is providing subsidies for installing solar panels on rooftops in their region.

No solar water pumps, but rooftop solar is taking off

Some sources say that the installation of rooftop solar panels Delhi has picked up pace. Kartik Sachdeva, director of Energetic Solar, says, “The demand for solar panels on rooftops has increased significantly in the past two-three years. Every day, more than a thousand people are contacting us for inquiries, and three to four new orders are also being received daily.”

The same thing is being seen in Jaunti village, too. Here, farmers have solar panels installed on their houses, but there are no solar pumps in their fields. It is also not possible to solarize the tube-well feeder. 

Kuldeep Arya, who installed an 8-kilowatt solar panel on the roof of his house, says that he too was not aware of it until two years ago. When he learned about the benefits of solar during a program in Najafgarh, he installed the panels on his rooftop, which is saving him about 10,000 rupees monthly. Presently, solar panels are installed on the roofs of more than 15 houses in this village. 

According to the Agriculture Department, in 2015, only 7% of the energy was being generated from solar. This capacity has now increased to 218 megawatts, reaching about 8% to 9%. In an effort to reach the 2,000 megawatt mark by 2025, solar plants are being installed in homes, buildings, schools, public offices, religious places, and villages. It is clear from this that Delhi's programs are not like that of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, where there are facilities ranging from solar pumps to the solarization of tube-well feeders. 

Observing this situation, V. S. Vohra, president of the East Delhi Resident Welfare Association Joint Front says that solar energy is the need of Delhi. He notes that steps are being taken in this direction, but points out that the government should announce some subsidies and loan facilities for installing solar panels.

Some successful experiments: A rural customer group

Dwijdas Basak, head of Tata Power DDL, said that in 2021, they formed a rural customer group to promote solar energy in the villages of Delhi bordering Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, which was a very successful experiment. Through this they also connected them to the solar panel. 

At present, farmers in about 50 villages are being motivated to adopt solar energy, as a result of which solar panels up to 100-kilowatt capacity have been installed so far. He says, “The benefit of communicating directly with the farmers was that more than 12,000 farmers were beneficiaries. Apart from Jaunti, work is going on at a fast pace in Nizampur, Auchandi, Pooth, Salahpur, Qutubgarh, Kanjhawala, Jat Khor, Dariyapur, Bankner, and Bakhtawarpur villages.”

Yet the impact is being seen more in neighboring cities than in Delhi. Farmers in Bhawanpur village in Uttar Pradesh’s Meerut district are rapidly adopting solar energy. Vinod Kumar, 57, says that everything from solar pumps in the fields to solar panels on rooftops and solar lights on poles outside the house are being installed. Referring to the government subsidy, he said that after knowing the benefits of solar energy and the financially simple ways of installing it, most of the farmers are agreeing. Similarly, by September 15, 2023, 329 consumers of NPCL in Greater Noida, which falls in Uttar Pradesh, had installed solar panels on the roofs of their houses. Their total capacity is 26.34 megawatts. Consumers are also being given subsidies from the central and state governments for installing rooftop solar panels.

Dr. PK Gupta, director of Delhi's only Krishi Vigyan Kendra, says, “Apart from solar panels on rooftops in Delhi, the state government started efforts in 2018 to promote solar energy at other places as well, but the meeting took place a few years ago. The discussion stopped after the visit and so did the talks with the farmers. There is no other plan here right now. At present, there is no facility regarding solar pumps, etc. in the fields.”

This story was produced with the support of Internews’ Earth Journalism Network. It was first published in Amar Ujala in Hindi on November 14, 2023 and has been translated and lightly edited for length and clarity.

Banner image: Kuldeep Arya, a farmer, demonstrates how solar panels were fitted onto his rooftop while talking about certain monetary benefits his family has experienced / Credit: Parikshit Nirbhay for Amar Ujala.