Solar City: No Takers for Project

Are contractors and agencies shying away from taking up works of Mysore City Corporation (MCC) fearing delay in release of funds? The answer seems to be in the affirmative. To cite an example, the ambitious solar city project sanctioned by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) in order to encourage use of non-conventional energy for Mysore city, which is one among the 60 cities across the country selected for the pilot basis implementation of the project, is yet to take off due to non-participation of agencies in tender process. Questions over Release of Funds According to sources in MCC, no one responds to the tender floated as they are not sure if the MCC will be able to release its share of the fund. While the MNRE provides 30 per cent of the fund for the project, the rest is to be borne by the MCC. An official told Express that though some agencies have expressed willingness to take up the project, it is unlikely to take off soon as these agencies are not listed by the MNRE. The MCC elections and the recent Assembly elections too caused the delay, according to sources. Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Ltd. (KREDL) project engineer Dinesh Kumar accused MCC of not implementing the solar city project though `79.35 lakh out of `9.5 crore announced for the project was sanctioned by the MNRE two years ago. MCC Commissioner P G Ramesh has denied the allegations of Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Corporation official D K Suresh Kumar that MCC was not serious about implementing the ‘Solar City’ project despite funds being released by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) two years ago. Ramesh said the MCC was keen on implementing the project and attributed the delay to qualified firms not taking part in the tenders. Under the project, MCC has taken up harnessing of 8 kw of solar energy each at Kuppanna Park and Cheluvamba Park, installing a 60 kw solar power plant on the MCC building rooftop, and 45 kw power plant at MCC zonal offices. http://www.newindianexpress.com/states/karnataka/Solar-City-No-Takers-for-Project/2014/03/10/article2100329.ece#.Ux27Vj-SxnN