AGARTALA, April 16 � The ambitious project of making Agartala a solar city is all set to gain momentum with the Agartala Municipal Council (AMC) contemplating to finalise the Detailed Project Report (DPR) by next month, an official source said here today.
A stakeholders� meeting has been convened on April 19 to have an elaborate discussion on the draft DPR prepared by a Mumbai-based consultantancy agency.
Chairman of AMC Prafullajit Sinha and all councillors will remain present to give their suggestions on the draft DPR. The Director, Ministry of Non-Conventional and Renewable Energy is also scheduled to attend the meeting, said PK Chakraborty, Chief Executive Officer of AMC.
Under the Rs 600 crore project, the street lighting system in the city will be energised through solar energy. Besides, government institutions like IGM Hospital, Birchandra State Library, official residences of Ministers, Governor House, Sukanta Academy, AMC, Civil Secretariat and Raindra Satabarshiki Bhavan will also be connected with the solar energy panel. The draft DPR has also suggested establishing few bio-plants to use garbage collected by the civic body.
�If the plan is implemented, conventional energy will be saved considerably�, Chakraborty said. Expressing concern over the funding pattern by the Centre and State, Chakraborty said when the Centre is interested to fund the project on 50:50 basis, the State Government favours 90: 10 on the plea that Tripura is a backward State under special category under which all projects of the Centre are given to the State on the ratio of 90:10 only.
Tripura Renewable Energy Development Agency (TREDA) has been appointed as nodal agency to implement the ambitious project.
The TREDA has already taken initiatives to energise the Raj Bhavan through solar energy and the Centre has given its consent to go ahead with the plan.
