Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal announced the budget for 2021-22. Provisions were made to set up 93 MW of solar projects, among other renewable and e-mobility plans.

The Haryana Power Generation Corporation Limited (HPGCL) will set up 77 MW of these announced solar projects on its land and the remaining 16 MW on land owned by village councils (panchayats).

The budget has also allotted 12,000 solar LED street lights for installation at rural locations. Five thousand of these lights will use 12W LEDs, while 1,000 high-mast LED solar lights will include CCTV cameras.

Lal also said that the state would distribute 49,500 solar power inverter chargers during the year, set up 1.2 MW of solar power systems at cow shelters, and provide solar lighting systems to 20,000 homes. The city of Panchkula would be developed into a solar or green city with a target of meeting 20% of its energy requirements through solar or renewable sources.

To boost e-mobility in the state, Haryana also intends to introduce 124 zero-emission fully electric buses in the state on a gross cost model. Lal noted that the state would push for adopting electric vehicles and set up necessary infrastructure across the state. It also plans to formulate a comprehensive electric vehicle policy to promote adoption further.

In his presentation, Chief Minister said that the state had started implementing its program to set up 50,000 off-grid solar pumps along with a 75% subsidy. 30% of the subsidy will be provided through central financial assistance under the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evem Utthan Mahabhiyan (PM KUSUM) program. Announced in the previous year’s budget, it envisioned the phased installation of 15,000 of 3 to 10 HP pumps under the first phase and the remaining 35,000 pumps in the second phase.

The Minister also spoke of a megaproject that has been allotted ₹70.8 billion (~$975.5 million) to a private company at IMT Sohna. The Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corporation has allocated 178 acres of land for this project. The company plans to invest ₹70 billion (~$964 million) over the next few years to supply batteries to electric two-wheelers, three-wheelers, and smartphone companies.

According to Mercom’s India Solar Project Tracker, Haryana has about 147 MW of operational solar power projects and about 610 MW of projects in the development pipeline.

Recently, the Delhi Government presented its budget for 2021-22, highlighting several sops for electric vehicles, electric public transportation, and solar projects. It allocated ₹ 32.27 billion (~$442.18 million) for the energy sector.