Lucknow, Apr 22 (PTI) The Uttar Pradesh government is expanding green cover and promoting green energy in a bid to counter the challenges of climate change that is manifesting across India through rising temperatures, erratic rainfall and extreme weather events, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

With focused efforts on both fronts, the state is fast emerging as a national leader in sustainable development, it added.

During a recent visit to Lucknow, Union minister Prahlad Joshi praised the initiatives and said, “Under Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s leadership, Uttar Pradesh is emerging as a role model in meeting rising energy demand. The solar energy initiatives in Ayodhya and Varanasi are exemplary.” Under the Uttar Pradesh Solar Energy Policy 2022, the Yogi Adityanath government has set a target of generating 22,000 MW solar power by 2027.

Solar parks are being developed in Jhansi, Lalitpur, Kanpur Nagar, Kanpur Dehat, Chitrakoot and Jalaun districts.

The state’s solar energy generation capacity has risen tenfold from 288 MW when Adityanath assumed office and efforts are underway to expand it further, the government said in the statement.

Plans include setting up solar parks in all municipal corporations, installing solar grids along railway tracks and expressways, and powering streetlights with solar energy. The transmission infrastructure is also being upgraded to support this enhanced capacity.

Ayodhya is being developed as a solar city. The government is working in phases to transform all 16 remaining municipal corporations and Noida into solar cities.

The Bundelkhand Expressway is slated to become India’s first solar-powered expressway.

The state government is actively promoting rooftop solar projects under the Pradhan Mantri Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana to further encourage the adoption of solar energy. The target for rooftop solar panel installations has been doubled for the 2025-26 fiscal, with a plan to install 2.65 lakh panels.

The housing and urban planning department has made rooftop solar panels mandatory for building plan approvals for plots exceeding 5,000 square metres.

Correspondingly, the target for rooftop installations has been raised to eight lakh by the 2026-27 fiscal.

The government also aims to plant 35 crore saplings during the monsoon. Over the past eight years, 214 crore saplings have been planted, increasing the state’s green cover.

According to the Indian Forest Status Report, 2023, Uttar Pradesh recorded the second-highest forest cover improvement after Chhattisgarh, with an increase of 559.19 square kilometres.

The state’s plantation drives prioritise plants with nutritional and medicinal value, further aligning environmental goals with public health, according to the statement. PTI NAV SZM SZM