The central government’s ambitious Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evem Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) is gearing up with full swing after the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the expansion of the scheme in the recent union budget 2020 which will cover 20 lakh farmers across the nation this year. The Solar Pump Yojana which promises to fulfill the irrigation and water problems by providing a 70% subsidy to the farmer for setting up pump sets and tube wells are getting good response across the nation along with the state Rajasthan where the state government has put its best foot forward.
As per the report, the Jodhpur Vidyut Vitran Nigam (JdVVNL) has issued tender where it is inviting bids from eligible bidders for the commissioning of solar PV systems for the solarization of grid-connected agricultural pumps /consumers under “KUSUM Scheme– Component C” in Jodhpur Discom on selected agriculture feeder. Moreover, the scheme which was announced by former Finance Minister Arun Jaitley during the Union Budget 2018-19, is all set to run diesel / electric pumps used for irrigation across the country with solar energy where farmers have to spend only 10% of the total expenditure.
MNRE Issues Guidelines for Solar Pump Yojana
The Ministry of New & Renewable Energy (MNRE) has issued the operational guidelines for the implementation of Solar Pump Yojana. Under component C, the solarisation of 10 lakh grid-connected agriculture pumps of individual pump capacity up to 7.5 HP is to be undertaken, says reports.
The scope of work for the selected bidders will include the design, survey, supply, installation, testing, and commissioning of the said complete SPV systems. The work on the installation and commissioning of the projects must be completed in a period of 9 months from the date of the award of the project. The developers will also be required to provide comprehensive maintenance for the plants for a period of 5 years from the date of successful commissioning.
The work for the tender has to be carried out on a ‘Turn-Key Basis’. The estimated quantity of solar systems covered under this tender will be around 504, which will be distributed on 17 selected feeders of the Jodhpur Discom. This quantity may further increase up to 50 percent and decrease as required by Discom.
What’s the Last Date for Submission?
The last date for bid submission for the tender of Solar Pump Yojana is March 5, 2019, and the techno-commercial bids will be opened on the following date i.e. March 6, 2019. The date and time of opening of the price bids will be intimated to the technically cleared bidders later.
The tender has been further divided into three lots, to cover the (1) Jodhpur and Pali region, (2) Sirohi region and (3) Barmer and Jalore region. The estimated cost of the projects to be executed in the three lots is (1) Rs 9.34 crore, (2) Rs 6.83 crore and (3) Rs 7.33 crore. All bidders must submit an Earnest Money Deposit based on the lot in which they are submitting their bids, varying from Rs 18.68 to 13.67 lakh.
What’s the Financial Aid in Budget 2020?
The Centre is going to provide Rs. 10,000 crore for four years under the Solar Pump Yojana approved by the Cabinet. As per reports, the Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA) will borrow Rs. 6,000 crore for the first phase (lasting for a year) to fund the Centre’s contribution and IREDA Rs. 15,000 crore for the second phase that will last for a year.
The Budget has also decided to expand the ambit of the KUSUM scheme where it will now replace 15 lakh grid-connected pumps with solar pumps.
“We shall also help another 15 lakh farmers solarise their grid-connected pump sets. In addition, a scheme to enable farmers to set up solar power generation capacity on their barren land and sell it to the grid will be operationalized,” Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman said during her Budget speech.
