The ministry of new and renewable energy (MNRE) plans to develop two more cities as model solar cities, besides Nagpur and Chandigarh. The ministry is considering two more names for its ambitious plan, ‘development of solar cities’, but the announcement will be made only after political decision.

“The basic objective is to set an example for other cities to follow. A financial support up to a maximum of Rs 9.5 crore will be provided to each model solar city for implementation of the master plan. But political interferences are delaying the decision,” an MNRE official told Governance Now.

The MNRE has proposed to develop 60 cities as solar cities during the 11th plan period. Nagpur in Maharashtra will become the model city by 2012 under the scheme. Chandigarh will also soon come up as a model. The solar cities will meet up to 10% of its energy demand via renewable energy sources and implement other energy efficiency measures as well. Commercially viable technology, like solar thermal heating systems, will therefore play a key role in meeting this target. It will be especially useful in "green buildings" that the government wants to promote on a large scale.

So far, based on the proposals received and the cities identified by some states, in-principle approval has been given to 43 cities for developing them as solar cities. They are Agra, Moradabad, Rajkot, Gandhinagar, Surat, Nagpur, Kalyan-Dombiwali, Thane, Nanded, Aurangabad, Indore, Gwalior,  Bhopal, Imphal, Kohima, Dimapur, Dehradun, Haridwar-Rishikesh, Chamoli-Gopeshwar, Chandigarh, Gurgaon, Faridabad, Coimbatore, Vijaywada, Bilaspur, Raipur, Agartala, Guwahati, Jorhat, Hubli, Maysore, Thiruvananthapuram, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Ajmer, Jaipur, Jodhpur, Bhubaneswar, Aizawl, Panji City & Environs, Itanagar, Hamirpur and Shimla.
 
The ministry is providing financial support up to Rs 50 lakh for each solar city to the respective state governments for preparation of a master plan, setting up institutional arrangements for the implementation of the master plan, awareness generation and capacity building activities.