June 25, 2014

Legislators Work Overtime to Create Renewable Energy Policy in India

15 MLAs from across parties will focus on the new comprehensive renewal energy policy and a solar policy for the state.

Fifteen Maharashtra MLAs across parties have decided to work collectively towards realisation of the state’s renewable energy potential, through their legislative actions.

The legislators will focus on the new comprehensive renewable energy policy and a solar policy for the state. They have also pledged for the formation of a standing committee on energy in the Maharashtra Assembly. So far, the state never had a solar policy or a standing committee on energy or the environment in the Assembly.


In a meeting on Friday, the MLAs, along with experts from IIT Mumbai and the Climate Parliament, identified several policy and financial challenges that need to be urgently addressed by the state and Central governments in order to boost off-grid and grid-connected renewable energy in Maharashtra. The Climate Parliament is a global network of legislators working towards promoting renewable energy to combat climate change.

Chaired by MLA Jay Kumar Rawal, and organised by Youth Forum of Legislatures and the Climate Parliament, the meeting was attended by multi-party MLAs including Dhanraj Chougule, Harish Pimple, Prof Ram Shinde, Rahul Mote, Manglesh Sangle, Chandrashekhar Bawonkule, Ashish Jaiswal, Dr Balaji Kinikar, Dr Sujit Minachekar and Chandredeep Narake.

“To address issues like the rising cost of energy and power deficit in the state, it is critical to gather key perspectives on how Maharashtra legislators can initiate and steer policy dialogues and parliamentary interventions for promoting large-scale renewable energy in the near future,” said Mr Rawal.

Women and child development minister of Maharashtra, Varsha Gaikwad said, “MLA-LAD funds can be a useful means to provide renewable energy systems in rural areas at affordable prices.”

MLA Dr Sanjay Kute said that the state government needs to undertake a comprehensive and sustained project to check the feasibility of locations for various renewable energy projects. Such an updated study would be beneficial to potential investors.

The MLAs agreed upon utilising their local area development funds for promoting the distribution of solar appliances and other energy systems in their constituencies.

During previous sessions of the Maharashtra Assembly, multi-party legislators had given their consent to form the Climate Parliament Maharashtra network and Mr Rawal was unanimously chosen as convener of the network.



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