Gujarat’s Famous Solar Village Has Left Herders Without A Pasture | Modhera | IndiaSpend

In October 2022, India got its first 24x7 solar village–Gujarat’s Modhera. But this has had fallouts for residents of neighbouring Sujanpura village, on part of whose grazing land the power plant for Modhera is built.

The villagers of Sujanpura are Maldharis, or traditional pastoralists, with each family owning at least a few cattle. Since the construction of the solar power plant, residents say that families spend at least Rs 200-Rs 300 a day to buy hay for their livestock, which was earlier freely available in the commons. Many have even had to sell their livestock to cope.

In response, the Mehsana District Collector said that, “it is public good being done,” and that even Sujanpura’s residents benefited as they received solar panels. “A lot of times we have to take decisions in the larger public interest.”