Dr. Abdullah welcomes 61 percent hike in Budget for renewable energy sector

New Delhi, Feb 26(ANI): Union New and Renewable Energy Minister Dr. Farooq Abdullah on Friday welcomed the 61 percent hike for renewable energy sector in the General Budget for 2010-11.

In a statement Dr. Abdullah thanked Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee for considering the financial requirements of the renewable energy sector.

He said that the increased allocation will enable his Ministry to take up new projects and strengthen the existing ones.

The approved outlay of the Ministry of 2009-10 was Rs.620 crore, which has now been enhanced to Rs.1000 crore.

The 61 percent increase over last year's outlay is mainly due to the thrust being given by the Government on Solar energy utilization under the Solar Mission.

Mukherjee in his budget speech in Parliament also announced that to address the problem of energy deficiency in the Jammu and Kashmir's Ladakh region, which faces extremely hard climate, the Government proposes to set up solar, small hydro and micro power projects at a cost of Rs.500 crore. (ANI)