To strengthen rural Maharashtra’s agricultural sector and provide continuous, reliable power supply to farmers during the day, the State Government has undertaken the highly ambitious ‘Chief Minister Solar Agriculture Feeder Scheme 2.0’ on a war footing. Marking a significant milestone under this scheme, a state-of-the-art 3 megawatt (MW) solar power project has been successfully commissioned at Tondakhairi village in Kalameshwar falling under MSEDCL’s Nagpur Rural Circle. As a part of the drive implemented by MSEDCL, a 4 MW capacity solar power project was previously commissioned successfully near the 33/11 KV Kachari Sawanga substation area in Katol. Following that success, this second project of 3 MW capacity has now materialised at Tondakhairi.

 

Connected to the 33/11 KV Kalameshwar substation, this new project will provide regular and smooth electricity during daytime to approximately 1,105 farmers in the region. With this new addition, the total operational solar power generation capacity under the Nagpur Rural Circle has reached 7 MW. Through these two projects, a total of 2,079 farmers in the district have been permanently freed from relying on nighttime power supply and the trouble of visiting fields late at night for irrigation. To save farmers from the struggle of nighttime irrigation and its adverse health effects, the State Government has placed special emphasis on supplying daytime electricity to the agricultural sector. With regular power supply during the day, farmers can now conveniently manage crop irrigation and fertilizer application, which will directly and positively impact crop productivity and quality.

 

Under the direction of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, an ambitious plan has been set to supply 100 per cent solar-generated power for agricultural irrigation in the state by the end of March 2027. This entire campaign is being guided by Abha Shukla, Additional Chief Secretary of the Energy Department, and Lokesh Chandra, Chairman and Managing Director of MSEDCL. The project was completed on schedule due to the strong coordination of Rajesh Naik, Chief Engineer of Nagpur Zone; Sanjay Wakde, Superintending Engineer of Nagpur Rural; Sudhir Hedau, Executive Engineer of Saoner Division; and Narendra Dhawad, Executive Engineer of the Testing Division. The adoption of solar energy is not only bringing prosperity to farmers but is also giving a major boost to eco-friendly green energy.