A long-running practice of collecting unofficial “PF” (party fund) payments for approvals of private solar power generation projects has been stopped, according to a report on the Vijay-led Tamil Nadu government.
The report says the move follows a similar step taken recently in the building-permit process, where an alleged per-square-foot “party fund” collection linked to planning approvals was halted after the change in government.
In the power sector, the report alleges that the unofficial amount demanded for solar project permissions rose over successive administrations—from ₹5 lakh per MW to ₹10 lakh, then ₹15 lakh, and later ₹25 lakh per MW. As an example, it notes that a 10 MW project would have faced an alleged demand of ₹2.5 crore.
The report describes an informal mechanism in which files would move only after a note or message indicating “PF received” was provided, later shifting to WhatsApp messages. It adds that in recent days approvals have been issued without such collections, and that officials have been instructed to clear eligible applications quickly.
Industry stakeholders have welcomed the reported change and said they expect similar measures to be extended to other departments as well.
