Karnavati, Gujarat. Masali village in Banaskantha district has become first solar village in border area. Masali village, with a total population of 800, is located 40 kilometers from the Pakistan border. Masali has emerged as 100 percent solar powered village in country.
Under PM Suryaghar Yojana, solar rooftops have been installed on all houses in Masali village having population of 800 people. All these houses are generating more than 225 kilowatts of electricity.
Solar panels have been installed on the rooftops of all houses in the village, at an estimated cost of about ₹1.16 crore. These 119 homes are receiving a total of 225.5 kilowatts of electricity, which is more than each home’s requirement.
The entire project worth ₹1.16 crore has been completed with cooperation from the Revenue Department, UGVCL, Bank and Solar Company. The project received a subsidy of ₹59.81 lakh under PM Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, public contribution of ₹20.52 lakh and CSR of ₹35.67 lakh.
A committee was formed under the chairmanship of DC Mihir Patel with the aim of providing 24-hour electricity in the villages, situated on the border. The scheme was started to turn 11 villages of Saradhi Vav Taluka and 6 villages of Suigam Taluka and a total of 17 villages into ‘solar-powered centers’.
As per media reports, Banaskantha collector Mihir Patel said, Under the Border Development Project, the administration has also taken the initiative to make 11 border villages in Vav taluka and six in Suigam taluka, as entirely solar powered villages. Mihir Patel said that it was a matter of pride and joy that Masali had earned the title of second solar village after Modhera in the state and the first on the border.
Sarpanch Maganiram Rawal and village heads of Masali Gram Panchayat said that the problem of electricity in the village has been eliminated due to solar energy.
