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Project : Bilgaon Micro-hydel Project 
State : Bilgaon, Maharashtra
Development Focus:  Alternate Energy 

About the NGO*:   Partnered with AID-India, PSE (People's School of Energy), BSFC (Bombay Sarvodaya Friendship Center) and the local community. This project marks the evolution of AID's efforts in supporting the alternate energy efforts for Rural India. PSE provides implementation knowledge base for alternate energy.

Existing Conditions:  The villages of Bilgaon and Maal have not had any source of electricity since Independence and due to the remote nature of this area, they have no hopes of the "main power grid" reaching them anytime in the foreseeable future (read more than a decade).

Objectives of Project:  (a) Provide electricity through a micro-hydel alyternate energy dam to the 320 households in 2 villages of Bilgaon and Maal. (b) Use local community to build and manage the dam ensuring local participation. (c) Ensure sustainability by having a continious revenue source collected through the village (in lieu of the Kerosene that they would otherwise buy).  

Requested Budget: $19,000
Status: Approved $4000. Project completed and inaugarated on Jan 14, 2003
Additional funds from: AID chapters : Maryland, Ann Arbor, San Deigo, TAMU.

Project Coordinator: Gagan Bhalla, Ravishankar Arunachalam
Contact Email(s): Email aidut@uts.cc.utexas.edu for more information

Additional Information:     

Read about Bilgaon Village : From Darkness to Light

Trifold on AID projects on Land/Water/Energy

Bollywood Movie, SWADES, inspired by Bilgaon Project !

Read press release by AID on the eve of the launch of Swades
Times of India Article on AID's angle to Swades
 
 

*NGO: Non-governmental Organization