Sunny side up: How solar power is sparking a jobs revival in Kashmir

As subsidies turn rooftops into revenue streams, solar energy is powering a tourism boom across rural KashmirBaramulla: “I did not go looking for a job, I created one,” said Mudassir Ahmad Bhat (32), seated in his guesthouse in Sawan village in Baramulla district of northern Kashmir. Outside, the guesthouse blends into Kashmir’s quiet beauty — dark wooden frames nestled along narrow lanes lined with wildflowers and tall pine trees. The air is crisp, scented with damp earth and the cool mountain breeze. Until a few years ago, these lanes would fall silent each winter, as men left in search of work.“From 2010 to 2024, nearly 70% of the men in our village would migrate to cities across India, selling Kashmiri handicrafts from Maharashtra to Uttar Pradesh,” Bhat told 101Reporters. The region’s harsh winters, unreliable power supply and lack of local jobs left them with little choice. “I still remember when electricity was a distant dream for us,” he added. “Now, we have solar power and things have changed for the better.”Bhat, a postgraduate from Kashmir University said that he was looking for ways to earn a sustainable income without leaving home. “There are only government jobs here which have very few vacancies. Even for Class IV posts, PhD holders were applying… Till last year, I would travel 365 days, away from home, selling shawls in Uttarakhand,” he said. When my family heard that the Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department was registering village homes as accommodations, we took a risk – pooling around Rs 8-10 lakhs, most of our savings to build a guesthouse, Bhat added.Their very first guest left within hours due to a power cut which used to last six to eight hours in 2022. With no light, no hot water and no backup the newly-built homestay struggled. “I told my father let us just shut it down,” Bhat said. But then there came a ray of sunshine, literally. Harsh winters, unreliable power supply and lack of local jobs (Photo - Arsalan Bukhari, 101Reporters)Powered by the sunIn March 2024, the Jammu & Kashmir Power Development Department informed residents of Sawan and other villages about the Prime Minister Surya Ghar Muft Bijli Yojana, a central government scheme aimed at expanding access to rooftop solar power. Several families, including Bhat's, signed up immediately. More than 100 individuals are enrolled in this area by itself.The scheme subsidises solar panel installations for households, with both central and Union Territory-level financial support A basic 1 kW rooftop system, priced at Rs 55,000, comes with a Rs 3,000 subsidy from the Union Territory and Rs 33,000 from the central government, reducing the cost to Rs 19,000.According to the latest price list shared by the electricity department, a 2 kW solar system costs Rs 1,11,000, of which Rs 72,000 is covered through subsidies from the central and Jammu & Kashmir governments, bringing the user’s share down to Rs 39,000. A 5 kW system is priced at Rs 2,58,500 and comes with a total subsidy of Rs 94,800, again split between the two governments. The highest capacity option, a 10 kW system, costs Rs 5,06,000 and also receives Rs 94,800 subsidy. In most inverter models, except for one or two, the Jammu & Kashmir UT offers a fixed subsidy of Rs 9,000, while the central government covers the larger portion.Bhat’s guesthouse went from four rooms booked to seven on an average. Monthly revenue shot up from Rs 12,000 to nearly Rs 40,000. “Since we installed solar panels, guests don’t complain,” said Nadeem Ahmed (33) who also runs a guesthouse in Sawan. Ahmad has installed a 5kW solar inverter that cost Rs 2,58,500. After a combined subsidy of Rs 94,800 from the J&K Union Territory and Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, he now only has to pay Rs 1,63,700, on Equated Monthly Installments (EMIs) spread over three to five years.“With a proper electricity supply, we were able to start generating revenue of Rs 1 to 2 lakh per month within a couple of months,” Bhat’s father Farooq Bhat (65) said. “In about three months, we had recovered our investment.”Installing equipment in the house (Photo - Arsalan Bukhari, 101Reporters)Before the sunlightIn 2023, Ahmad returned from Saudi Arabia, where he worked in a billing store connected to Aramco. “I used to work 10-hour shifts in harsh conditions for little money. I couldn’t take it anymore. My father, a retired cab driver, was too old to work. I had two daughters and no income,” he says.Ahmad came back to Kashmir and said he “couldn’t see myself giving horse rides to tourists in Gulmarg like some of my neighbors, after all, I’m a graduate.”He also turned his home into a guesthouse, but constant electricity outages nearly sank the business. “We had power cuts for two to four days at a time. At first, I earned Rs 20,000 a month. Then it dropped drastically. Tourists stopped coming back. Some foreigners who loved the villagestays vanished too.”“I considered buying a commercial generator, but it would have cost Rs 5 lakh.” he added. Farooq said, when power cuts started thinning the guest list, the family began renting diesel generators at Rs 1,000 a day, excluding the cost of fuel. But the costs quickly spiraled out of control. They had to raise room rates, making them nearly as expensive as hotels in Srinagar.(Above)A group standing outside the homestay (below) a woman showing reviews (Photo - Arsalan Bukhari, 101Reporters)And that, said Bhat, defeated the point. “People don’t come to these village guesthouses for luxury, they come here to form connections.”“Guests often tell us: We want to see how people in heaven live and eat…Kashmir is beautiful, yes, but what touches them most is the way we host them,” Bhat added. “We serve them the food we eat ourselves, the noon chai we drink. They sit with us. They ask about our lives.” These guesthouses, he said, make Kashmir more accessible. “Many of our guests come from modest backgrounds. They can’t afford luxury hotels. But they can afford to stay with us.”But, frequent power cuts and rising fuel costs meant they had to charge more, quietly eroding the warm connection with guests.According to Renewable Energy Engineer And Resarcher Sajjad Ahmed Shah in Srinagar, “The Kashmir Valley has 13 hydroelectric power projects that can easily meet our local demand,” Shah explained. “But they’re controlled by the central government’s NHPC (National Hydroelectric Power Corporation). The electricity produced here is sold to other states to generate revenue and little reaches the residents here.”Shakir pointing towards solar panels (Photo - Arsalan Bukhari, 101Reporters)A new dawnBut, the decentralized solar revolution is quietly transforming village life in Kashmir. In just six months, the number of registered guesthouses in the region has increased from barely a dozen to over 300, according to Fayaz Ahmed, a tourism official with the J&K government. For many families, this shift means they no longer have to migrate in search of work. “At least four or five families in our village have stopped seasonal migration,” said Ahmad. “Six to eight new guesthouses are coming up around us, that’s never happened before.”This energy transition is also creating new opportunities for women. Shaheena Akhtar (51) a single mother, recalled how limited things were earlier: “All we had was collecting wood in the jungles and making charcoal. That wasn’t enough to feed a family.”After the solar push in August 2024, Akhtar registered her home as a guesthouse and installed a 3kW rooftop solar system. “I’m still learning, but I now earn Rs 15,000 to Rs 18,000 a month.I had no source of income earlier,” she said. “I used to be invisible, even to my own relatives in Srinagar. Now, they call me to book rooms for their friends. Solar power has lit up my life.”“My dream is to send my daughter to become a pilot. For the first time, that dream feels possible,” Akhtar said, adding, “Tourists love the natural beauty, but they used to avoid places with unreliable electricity or noisy diesel generators.”The shift to solar has changed that. Homestays now offer cleaner, quieter, and more affordable options, some as low as Rs 1,500–2,000 a night. For local entrepreneurs, especially in areas like Tangmarg, solar electricity has kept the lights on and opened doors to stable income in a region where jobs have long been scarce.Blindspots in the solar scheme (Photo - Arsalan Bukhari, 101Reporters)Blindspots in the planWhile the solar scheme has spurred economic activity in Kashmir’s remote villages, it remains an imperfect fit for many.Mohammad Aslam (62), who runs a guesthouse in Sawan village, said that despite subsidies, the upfront cost is still too high for small business owners. “For winter, even 1-2kW won’t suffice. I need at least 5kW, which means paying Rs 1.6 lakh even after subsidy. An 8kW setup would cost around ₹3 lakh — that’s just not feasible,” he said.Guesthouse owner Shakeel Mir, also from Sawan, added that solar isn’t always reliable. “In the rainy season and winter months, we barely see any sunlight. The inverter backup lasts 3-4 days, which helps, but power remains a challenge during those times.”Aslam also flagged hidden costs. “The power department gives the inverter and sends one or two technicians, but we have to arrange extra local labour for the installation. In winter, when snow falls on the panels, we have to clean them ourselves.”He believes the initiative is well-intentioned but incomplete. “They just install the panels and leave. Our sloping tin roofs become death traps in winter, one slip while wiping snow and you’re gone. No one talks about upkeep, after-sale support, or how risky this is. Solar sounds good in theory, but in practice, it puts us at more risk during winters.”For the scheme to truly work, he added, “It must go beyond just installing panels. We need affordable solutions for larger energy needs, regular maintenance, and better support systems.”This story was produced as a part of 101Reporters Climate Change Reporting Grant. Cover Photo - A man pointing towards the rooftop solar (Photo - Arsalan Bukhari, 101Reporters)

'Now we want the chair': Kashmir’s women SHG leaders gear up to fight panchayat elections

Kashmir’s women SHG leaders are canvassing for votes based on their achievements — solving problems at the grassroots level in a way that power and politics never could Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir: In a quiet corner of Kreeri village in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district, Rubeena Begum (40) walks across muddy paths, knocking gently on wooden gates. A local self-help group (SHG) leader, she greets her neighbours by name, reminds them about the pipeline they lobbied for last year, and makes a request, “Iss baar vote mujhe do [vote for me this time].” Rubeena has been leading an SHG for the past ten years. And now, she is trying to fight a panchayat election. She believes her grassroots-level work experience has prepared her for politics in ways formal education or party training never could.Rubeena’s SHG started with women pooling small savings to support each other and gain access to government schemes. “But what we really built was courage,” she told 101Reporters. “I never thought I could speak in a room full of officers. Now, I can argue with a bank manager, a block officer, or even the sarpanch.” Another SHG leader, Shamshada Bano (39), plans to contest. “Our women have been quietly doing the work of a panchayat for years,” she said. “Now we’re just asking for the chair.”Her journey with SHGs began after her husband’s job as a driver became irregular. With a loan of ₹20,000 from the group, she started a small dairy business. Over the years, she found herself going to government offices to apply for subsidies, coordinate veterinary visits, and help other women apply for ration cards. “I didn’t even know how to write an application before,” she said. “Now I’ve written 50. We’ve filed RTIs, gone to grievance cells, even shouted slogans when we had to. That’s where I learned politics — not in a party, but in line at the tehsildar’s office,” she said. The struggle for political participation Through the years, the SHG women became the go-to people in their villages — the ones who knew how to write an application, find out why an old-age pension was delayed, or get a gas connection.Abid Hussain, a schoolteacher in Kreeri, said he has more faith in SHG women than in most elected Panchayat officials. “They’ve fixed our local health centre, brought back the doctor, got the roads repaired — without being in power,” he said. “If they’ve done all this without being elected, imagine what they’ll do if they win.” He remembers how the PHC in their village didn't have a doctor for emergencies. Nothing happened despite complaints, and the panchayat wasn't able to resolve the issue, though it fell under their jurisdiction. It was only when the women collectively met the then-Chief Medical Officer that they were finally able to appoint a doctor. Rubeena helps out one of the women in her village with paperwork (Photo sourced by Arsalan Bhukari, 101Reporters)Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) has not had a local body election since 2018; even before that, it has been erratic at best. But the recent updation of electoral rolls has raised hopes of a panchayat election happening soon. Meanwhile, not just Rubeena and Shamshada, but many other women they know through SHGs from neighbouring villages are planning to contest, they say. Many of these women will contest independently, and their campaigns don't come with grand ideological promises like their politically backed opponents. They are asking for a vote based on what they’ve already done — fixed broken pipes, helped set up anganwadi kitchens, and organised protests when schemes were delayed. When Morifat Jehan's (60) frequent visits to the local social welfare office yielded no results in securing her widow pension, it was Rubeena who helped her navigate the multiple formalities.Former sarpanch Fayaz Ahmad said he has seen Rubeena work closely with officers and villagers for years. “She’s not a 'seasonal' leader,” he said. “She’s been here through floods, protests, COVID. People trust her.”Despite all this, most political parties remain reluctant to give tickets to SHG leaders, as sifting through a long line of career politicians leaves little window to accommodate women leaders at the grassroots level, admits local political leader of the National Conference, Mir Sameer. Rubeena reflects that they want women like her to campaign for them, but won't give them tickets. Defiant, Shamshada says that we won't wait for someone to give us a ticket. “We gave ourselves permission."Leaning, learning and leading   The SHG model in Jammu and Kashmir has exploded over the past decade; there are now more than 70,000 SHGs across the union territory. Thousands of women meet every week to save money, run small businesses, and access government support. But beyond livelihood generation, these groups have become spaces of informal leadership and collective empowerment, particularly in conflict-affected areas where women’s visibility in public life has been traditionally low. “When you go together as a group, you’re not scared,” said Dilshada Jan, an SHG member who has become Rubeena’s campaign manager. “Government officers used to dismiss us at first. Now they listen. We’ve learned their language—schemes, forms, funds, deadlines.”Shamshada Bano with her SHG which has become a space for informal leadership and collective empowerment (Photo by Arsalan Bhukari, 101Reporters) Firdous Ahmad, who works with the Kashmir Livelihood Foundation, echoed her, saying SHGs are forcing a shift in how government officials engage with women. “Earlier, women were treated as passive beneficiaries. Now they’re active negotiators,” he said. “They’re setting new terms for governance.”Experts say this collective approach could fundamentally reshape grassroots politics. Dr. Bilal Saeed, a political sociologist at the University of Kashmir who has studied local governance and gender participation in rural J&K, said the shift from self-help groups to political participation is particularly significant in the region. “Kashmir is a highly patriarchal society, and because of the prolonged conflict and lack of exposure for women, political participation from SHG platforms was not something we had seen before. So when women here begin stepping into leadership— not with slogans, but with spreadsheets, application copies, complaint numbers —it marks a real shift,” he said. He notes that what's perhaps more surprising is that this is happening despite the lack of strong institutional backing. ‘A woman can stand for election. That itself is change’As elections approach, the campaign in these villages remains quiet — no big rallies, no party offices. Just a group of women walking together, house-to-house, with files in hand, collecting phone numbers and encouraging women to get enrolled as voters.For Rubeena and Shamshada, even contesting the election feels like a form of victory. “Maybe I’ll win, maybe I won’t,” said Rubeena. “But now, every girl in my village knows a woman can stand for election. That itself is change.”Her daughter, Mehak (16), says she used to think politics was only for men with big cars and loud voices. “But now I see my mother do more work than any politician. I want to be like her,” she said.Rubeena is well aware of what she is up against. Adjusting her headscarf, she said, “First of all, the local political parties… They have strong networks already in place… When elections come, they just activate that network — those people go door-to-door, convince voters, mobilise entire families.” Defiant, Shamshada says that we won't wait for someone to give us a ticket. “We gave ourselves permission." (Photo - Arsalana Bhukari, 101Reporters)Both women say their families were initially hesitant. “My husband said politics is a dirty game,” said Shamshada. “But now, when he sees people coming to me for help, he understands. This isn’t about power. It’s about responsibility.”Tajamul Bano, a former ward member from Qazipora, said she’s watched SHG women handle village issues with more consistency than many elected representatives. “We often get caught in party politics or wait for approvals. But these women don’t wait — they follow up on school repairs, water pipelines, even ration cards,” she said. “Still, politics means power struggles. I worry how much space would be given to them once they win.”Echoing this, Rubeena said the bigger challenge lies in breaking gender barriers, recounting how people in her village grieved when Mehbooba Mufti was elected as the first woman Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir. “That tells you something about how deep these biases still run,” she said. “We live in a place where people still hesitate to trust women with leadership.”Edited by Jyothisha VJCover image - Shamshada deals with paperwork in the village of Kreeri village in North Kashmir’s Baramulla district (Photo - Arsalan Bhukari, 101Reporters)