Will speak to Chief Minister over `4.5k cr green cess recovery: Sudin

NT Reporter Panaji

Power Minister Ramkrishna ‘Sudin’ Dhavalikar assured the Goa legislative assembly that the state government will look into the Rs 4,500 crore pending green cess dues allegedly owed by private coal-handling firms.

Responding to the demand on electricity and new and renewable energy on Monday, Dhavalikar said that the green cess on coal is handled by the finance department.

“I will check if the Rs 4,500 crore due to the Goa government is pending by private firms as claimed by the Leader of Opposition Yuri Alemao,” said Dhavalikar. He added that he would take up the matter with the CM, who is the finance minister, to ensure recovery of the cess.

The Minister said that Goa’s average annual power load increases by 6%, and the government is addressing rising demand through infrastructure upgrades. “Our peak hour demand for the year 2025-26 has touched to 815 MW,” he said.

He informed the House that 8,039 km of underground cabling work has been undertaken by the electricity department.

On pending electric vehicle subsidies, the Power Minister said the department is working to clear the backlog.

Regarding renewable energy, the Minister said Rs 15.07 crore has been disbursed for rooftop solar installations, with 2,157 connections generating 72.5 million units of power.

He said that Goa has set a target of generating 150 MW of renewable energy by 2030. “However, I am confident that the target will be achieved by 2027,” said Dhavalikar.

He added that the government plans to provide 11,000 solar-powered pumps to farmers in Goa under the PM-KUSUM Yojana. “As of today, 54 government, government-aided and educational institutions have registered for solar power units to be installed,” he said.