The village of Palli in Jammu & Kashmir’s border district of Samba became the country’s first ‘carbon neutral panchayat’ with Prime Minister Narendra Modi dedicating to the nation a 500 kilowatt solar plant.

What is meant by carbon neutrality?

• Carbon dioxide emissions account for 82 per cent of global warming, with the rest coming mainly from the much more potent greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide.

• Carbon neutrality means having a balance between emitting carbon and absorbing carbon from the atmosphere in carbon sinks. Carbon sink is any system that absorbs more carbon than it emits. The main natural carbon sinks are soil, forests and oceans. 

• Removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and then storing it is known as carbon sequestration. In order to achieve net zero emissions, all worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions will have to be counterbalanced by carbon sequestration.

• Another way to reduce emissions and to pursue carbon neutrality is to offset emissions made in one sector by reducing them somewhere else. This can be done through investment in renewable energy, energy efficiency or other clean, low-carbon technologies. 

Projects in Palli

• PM Modi said that Palli has shown the way to the country by becoming carbon neutral.

• All 1,500 solar panels put up in a total area of 6,408 square metres will provide clean electricity to 340 houses in the model panchayat under the central government's Gram Urja Swaraj programme.

• The solar project was completed at a cost of Rs 2.75 crore in a record time. The electricity generated will be distributed to the village, having a daily requirement of 2,000 units, through the local power grid station. 

• From the macadamized roads to the recently launched electric bus service, the village located just 17 km from the winter capital Jammu is witnessing a major transformation with an upgraded Panchayat Ghar, renovated government high school building, a new pond and improved playfields and electric bus ride.

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