Bhubaneswar, April 18: Eight years on, the project of turning the capital city into a model solar city still remains a non-starter with the municipal corporation failing to take any concrete steps to execute the ambitious project.

Bhubaneswar was among the 60 cities to be selected for the Union ministry of new and renewable energy's solar city programme, which was launched in 2008. Other major cities selected under the scheme were Chandigarh, Gurgaon, New Delhi, Raipur, Kochi, Guwahati and Howrah.

Following the selection, the municipal corporation made a detailed project report and the cost was estimated at Rs 514.68 crore. Out of the total cost, the state will provide Rs 117.69 crore and the Centre's contribution will be Rs 78 crore, including Rs 50 lakh for preparation of the detailed project report. The private partners involved in the scheme will provide the remaining Rs 318.95 crore.

The aim was to reduce the use of conventional energy by 10 per cent in a span of five years through energy efficiency measures. It was decided that solar rooftops would be installed at major government and other commercial establishments. Residents will also be encouraged to opt for the same.

Till September 2015, 48 cities finished preparation of their detailed project reports for execution of the project. Barring Chandigarh, no other cities have been able to implement the programme in their area till now.

The state government last year had asked the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) to collaborate with the Odisha Renewable Energy Development Agency (Oreda) and come up with a detailed project report to roll out the programme in the city. Sources in the BMC said that lack of coordination between the agency and the corporation had caused the delay.

When asked about the status of the project, BMC city engineer Dweepayan Patnaik said: "We had called the agency officials earlier last month to have a detailed deliberation on executing the model solar city project in the capital, but they didn't turn up for the meeting. We again called them this month and finally held a meeting. The plan is on the track right now."

After the meeting it has been decided that the civic body will set up rooftop solar power plants in municipal, government and commercial buildings.

The rooftops will be installed on a pilot basis at yatri nivas, kalyan mandaps, BMC office and hospital. The Bhuasuni dumping yard will also be lit up with solar power.

Studying the growth in consumption levels and population projections, the project report has assessed that energy consumption in the capital city in 2017 would be equivalent to 2,911.42 MU. The same in 2022 will be 3,643.81 MU.

"We will take steps to encourage domestic consumers to use solar power. We will also identify parks where water pumps would run on solar energy," said Patnaik.

On the other hand, the Oreda will take steps to set up a solar city cell in the corporation office. It will also take efforts to appraise the Union ministry for release of funds under the solar city cell.

At present, the civic body has installed solar photovoltaic panels at the Municipal Hospital in Old Town, which according to its administration was used as a back up tool during power-cuts.

However, due to lack of proper maintenance, the solar panels are lying defunct at the hospital.