Virtual meeting held to discuss issues pertaining to carbon neutral Ladakh

Leh, June 30: Secretary Power & NRE Department, Ravinder Kumar along with the Chief Engineer, Distribution and Superintending Engineer, PDD attended a virtual meeting chaired by S. Alok Kumar, Secretary Power, Ministry of Power, Government of India to discuss the issues related to making UT Ladakh a carbon-neutral UT as announced by Prime Minister, Narendra Modi in 2020 Independence Day speech.
Secretary Power, MoP, GoI conveyed that MoP along with the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change will be preparing a comprehensive 10-year action plan for achieving carbon-neutral Ladakh. Bureau of Energy Efficiency made a presentation on the present scenario of the Power Sector in the UT and various RE Projects proposed in UT of Ladakh.
Secretary reviewed the 200 KV transmission system projects for Nubra and Zanskar regions under PMDP, 66 KV transmission system for Changthang region under SDP to UT Ladakh and upgradation of SPV Plants already installed in various remote locations of Ladakh.
Secretary Power, Ladakh Ravinder Kumar submitted that regarding the capacity augmentation of SPV Plants, proposal has been submitted to MNRE for approval and funding.
Secretary Power, MoP, GoI directed various organizations such as NTPC, EESL, SECI, PGCIL etc. for submitting their action plan and timelines for RE initiatives in the UT such as Electric Mobility / Vehicles, Energy Efficiency initiatives, 50 MW Solar Plant in Phyang, 10 GW Solar plant at Pang.
Speaking on carbon neutral Ladakh, Secretary Power, MoP, said that along with government initiatives, public participation is also very crucial for achieving the desired goal, for which, various social media tools can be utilized to make it a people’s movement.
The meeting was also attended by Additional Secretary MoP, Joint Secretary MoP and various officers from MoP, MNRE, MoEFCC, CEA, CMD NTPC and PGCIL.