The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has amended the guidelines for implementing the Model Solar Village under the PM-Surya Ghar: Muft Bijli Yojana, with a focus on eligibility and selection procedures. The eligibility criteria have been modified to include more flexible options for selection. While the original guideline required the village to be a revenue village with a population above 5,000, and above 2,000 in special category states and Union Territories, the amendment allows the district level committee (DLC) to select the ten most populous villages in districts where fewer than ten villages meet the population threshold. Furthermore, the DLC may now opt to designate a “model solar panchayat” instead of a single village, particularly in demographically sparse, hilly, or remote districts.
The selection criteria for model villages have also been modified. Earlier, the village with the highest total renewable energy capacity within its revenue boundaries, including all government and private installations, qualified. The amendment now focuses specifically on distributed solar capacity. As per the revised guidelines, the village with the maximum deployed distributed solar capacity, regardless of the ownership source, will be selected.
The core objectives of the programme remain unchanged. These include enabling access to clean energy in rural areas through rooftop solar installations and reducing dependence on conventional electricity supply. Moreover, the model solar village initiative will promote applications such as solar-powered lighting systems for homes and streets, water supply solutions, and agricultural pumps.
