18,000 VILLAGES TO BE ELECTRIFIED FROM RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES - SHRI BAALU

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18,000 Indian villages will be electrified from renewable energy sources as a part of the country’s ambitious programme to promote use of non-conventional energy sources to attain sustainable development goals. This was stated by the Environment and Forests Minister, Shri T.R.Baalu, while addressing the plenary session on Energy at the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) at Johannesburg. He further said that this required investments and technology and the global community should collectively address such challenges. This programme would be completed in the next five years, he added.

Shri Baalu made it clear that the energy requirements were bound to increase manifolds and similar was the case with other developing countries. He emphasized the need for policy and technological initiatives to enable the developing countries switch over to renewable energy sources in accordance with the priorities of the respective countries. Stating that the consumption of traditional biomass resources like firewood could not be done away with overnight, the Minister stressed on the need to develop and adapt technologies, which would make use of biomass resources easier and cleaner.

On the issue of international cooperation, Shri Baalu categorically stated that inter-governmental resource transfers would have to be the mainstay and it could not be undermined in the endeavour for non-governmental partnerships. The developed countries, that could be partners in this process, should share the additional burden of providing financial resources and clean technologies in accordance with the Rio principles, Shri Baalu added.