Starting the week on a bright note, with another solar-positive story of a small village that has made history by becoming fully solar-powered.
Chichghat-Rathi, a small village in Wardha district, Maharashtra, has achieved the remarkable milestone of becoming Vidarbha’s first fully solar-powered village.
This village is located 40 km away from Wardha city and has an installed solar capacity of 811 kilowatts, which provides electricity to all its households, industries, and public spaces.
The villagers fully used year-round sunlight despite having a dry climate and scorching summers.
Maharashtra’s government campaign to make villages 100% solar-powered, was very well received by the villagers. The project was supported under the central government’s Pradhan Mantri Suryaghar Yojana, providing subsidies for solar panel installations. However, no extra government funding was provided.
The solar transition covered 70 households, four industrial units, one commercial establishment, Anganwadi centers, schools, streetlights, and public water systems.
Most of the households installed solar panels through bank loans, with the Bank of Baroda giving 50 families secure funding. Three households received CSR funding, and two families funded the installations by themselves.
This incredible achievement was made possible through the joint efforts of the villagers and local leaders Sarpanch Seema Bewade and former sarpanch Rajesh Kochar, who led the initiative with support from industrialists and officials from MSEDCL.
It sets an inspiring example for other villages in Maharashtra and across the country by switching to solar power and becoming an energy-independent village.
Chichghat-Rathi’s success reflects how collective determination and effective use of renewable energy can bring positive change, even without large government funding.
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