BLAMING the recent ruckus created by Shiv Sena over the windmills project in Satara district, Union Minister for Non-Conventional Energy Vilas Muttemwar said Maharashtra’s loss was Rajasthan’s gain as actress Aishwarya Rai and ‘Little Genius’ Sachin Tendulkar had invested money in the desert state.
Muttemwar, after attending a conference of solar manufacturers from all over the country, said the state government should take steps to encourage wind energy companies. ‘‘The country has the potential to generate about 5,000 MW through wind energy. Maharashtra will miss out on it if it fails to woo developers,’’ Muttemwar, an MP from Nagpur, said.
Currently, wind energy generates only 2,800 MW of power.
He also said up to 5,000 MW of electricity could be saved if alternative energy sources like solar, bio-mass and micro-hydro projects were put up on a large scale.
‘‘Pune’s mayor has promised to offer 5 per cent rebate on property tax in case a society accepts a water and electricity conservation package,’’ he said, adding Rs 1.5 lakh each would be given to district committees for creating public awareness on renewable energy.
Later, ministry secretary N Gokhale clarified that mayor Dipti Choudhary had given this assurance during a meeting called by the Centre in September this year.
However, Muttemwar was unhappy to note that the state governments were not extending help to implement renewable energy programmes. ‘‘Only 225 districts in the country have responded to the ministry’s call for forming an advisory committee that will implement renewable energy projects,,’’ he added.