Punj Lloyd Infrastructure felicitated at Solar Power Summit:            

                                                     by Punjab Government and PEDA

BIKRAM SINGH MAJITHIA                                                                                       In a Solar Summit organised in Chandigarh by the Punjab Government and Punjab Energy Development Agency (PEDA), Punj Lloyd Infrastructure Ltd, a subsidiary of Punj Lloyd was felicitated yesterday for commissioning of its 20 MW solar power plant in District Mansa, Punjab and for committing further investment in another 20 MW solar project bringing its total portfolio in Punjab to 40MW.

Among the attendees were Punjab’s Deputy Chief Minister, Sardar Sukhbir Singh Badal, State Renewable Energy Minister - Bikram Singh Majithia, Joint Secretary, Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, (MNRE), Government of India, Punjab Government Principal Secretary – Power, Chief Secretary Punjab, CMD of Indian Renewable Energy Development Agency (IREDA), CEO PEDA, among several chieftains of the industry including Mr Atul Punj.

Punj Lloyd was one of the developers who had commissioned the project one month ahead of schedule. In his address to the audience, Mr Punj attributed this success to the “healthy execution environment provided by various Punjab Government agencies” and particularly lauded the proactive approach of the Minister and officials of PEDA.

Mr Punj also highlighted that in the execution of this project, Punj Lloyd was one of the pioneers in adopting an innovative concept of taking semi-fertile land on lease from local farmers with annually escalating rentals, providing a stable and growing source of income for the local farmers without losing the ownership of land. While on one side, this guaranteed an escalation of 5% every year to the farmers, this put the less fertile land available in the State to the best alternative utilisation, resulting in a win-win situation for the local farmers, developers and the State Government to achieve their respective goals.

The Minister appreciated the development efforts by Punj Lloyd, who along with others, is playing an important role in bringing a solar revolution in Punjab.

The Minister also congratulated State Renewable Energy Minister - Bikram Singh Majithia and his team for "the phenomenal addition to Punjab's capacity to generate solar energy", announcing that the capacity had increased from 9 MW in 2012 to 541 MW this year, and an investment of Rs 4,000 crore had come into this sector in the State.