New green revolution by the government

Call it green revolution. To achieve the twin objective of promoting education among girls belonging to poor farmer families of Vidarbha in Maharashtra and those affected by Cyclone Aila in West Bengal and spreading the green word through a single programme, the ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) is distributing solar lanterns to families below poverty line (BPL) which have girls studying in classes 6 to 12.

About 65,000 such lamps have been already distributed to farmers in Vidarbha and around 14,000 to people in the Sunderbans who were devastated by Aila.

“If we distribute solar lamps to members of BPL families, we will not only be promoting lamps but will also be encouraging girls to continue going to school. This way, not only will the girls become educated but their families will also benefit,” an MNRE official said.

The official said no specific data was gathered before distributing the lamps. It was done on the basis of information available with the ministry of rural development and data provided by state governments.

“We have a scheme in special-category states, such as Jammu and Kashmir, and the northeast where free-of-cost solar lamps are being donated in villages without electricity. A similar scheme is also in place in the backward hilly areas of Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand,” the officer said, adding that each solar lamp was worth between Rs4,000 and Rs5,000.