Science and Technology Minister Pradeep Panigrahy on Thursday informed the Assembly that plans have been made to provide solar power to 257 villages, including 250 in the Tribal Sub-Plan areas, during the current year. “A total of 268 households of seven villages in Shialilati gram panchayat under Gajapati district’s R Udayagiri block would be provided solar power. For this, a total of Rs 197.57 lakh has been provisioned in the Budget. The solar projects would be undertaken with financial assistances from the Union Government’s Deen Dayal Upaddhyaya Gram Jyoti Yojna and the State Science and Technology Department,” the Minster said. Separate solar power plants having total 65.5 KWP capacity would be set up to provide solar power to these villages, he informed. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs has planned to illuminate 250 villages in Tribal Sub-Plan areas across Gajapati, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Kandhamal, Koraput, Rayagada and Nabarangpur.