COIMBATORE: Tamil Nadu minister for energy resources and law C T R Nirmal Kumar on Tuesday said the state has launched a single-window portal to remove procedural hurdles in the solar rooftop scheme, claiming that the platform had drawn 30,000 applications within three weeks.“We had asked for the figures till last April — when the previous govt was in power — to assess the level of implementation. The number stood at 87,000 by April. In the last three and a half weeks alone, we have received 30,000 applications. We are confident that we will achieve our target of one lakh by December this year. We must definitely achieve this target.” The minister said steps would be taken to reach the target of one crore by 2031.The minister was speaking to reporters after chairing a meeting here on the solar rooftop programme. He said earlier bottlenecks included confusion over where to apply, delays in subsidy processing, and net-meter installation taking “six months to one-and-a-half years.”He said the new single-window portal integrates the Union govt scheme and enables applications from one place, with work allocation being automatically routed to one among around 1,500 registered vendors in the state. The target of covering one lakh houses by March could be met by January due to higher public response, he said. While Coimbatore earlier saw more applications, Chennai had now moved ahead, he added, urging participation from micro, small and medium enterprises as well.According to him, vendor demands were being addressed through end-to-end digitisation and zonal consultations. He said processes were simplified in coordination with the finance department so that after the Union subsidy is received, the state subsidy would reach beneficiaries within two days, a system he said came into effect from Monday. Awareness drives through newspapers, television and TNPDCL camps were also under way.On power supply planning, he said the govt had initiated steps to procure at least 8,000 MW additionally through medium-term (five-year) and long-term contracts, factoring in expiries of existing agreements by 2028-29. A battery storage policy would be introduced soon to manage surplus solar power, he said, adding that tariff-related representations from MSMEs and large industries would be examined in phases.Nirmal Kumar on Tuesday launched a political attack on AIADMK leader Edappadi K Palaniswami, questioning his leadership and alleging that he was “speaking in favour of the DMK” instead of opposing the ruling party’s failures.He said Palaniswami had no moral right to enter the AIADMK headquarters founded by MGR or garland his statue, alleging that he was acting against the principles of MGR and Jayalalithaa. “It is not clear whether he is leading AIADMK or whose AIADMK it is. Even second-rung leaders in his party have said that he is trying to join hands with DMK and form a govt,” he said.The minister urged Palaniswami to hand over the party to Jayalalithaa’s “true loyalists” and join DMK directly.
