Punjab Solar Tube Well Subsidy: 530K+ Applied, No Phase 2 Window Found

Key Takeaways

• The scheme is the Chief Minister Punjab Solarization for Agricultural Tube Wells Programme. Its first phase covers 8,000 tube wells. Applications closed on 6 January 2025, a draw was held on 1 February 2025, and the programme portal says it is not accepting new applications.
• The 530,000 figure belongs to that first phase. The Chief Minister said more than 530,000 farmers applied and 385,000 were declared eligible for the draw. Applying is not being approved: the draw was for 8,000 places.
• The only Phase 2 we found is in plans and proposals. A July 2024 report on the Chief Minister's approval of the project described another 10,000 tube wells, Dawn repeated the plan on 6 January 2025, and an APP report on the 2025-26 budget proposals said Phase 2 proposals are under consideration. We found no Phase 2 window, portal, quota or ballot.
• The subsidy is stated three ways. Official pages give flat amounts of Rs 500,000 for 10 kW, Rs 750,000 for 15 kW and Rs 1,000,000 for 20 kW. The Chief Minister said 67 percent in July 2024 and up to 95 percent in May 2025. We found no official page that reconciles them.
• Installation lagged the launch target of June. Business Recorder reported on 10 July 2025 that revised letters had gone to 7,988 selected farmers, 7,670 sites were inspected and 652 tube wells were installed, and Dawn reported delays on 3 May 2025. We found no later count.

Introduction

A search for a Phase 2 form leads to a closed first phase. We found no Phase 2 form. What exists is a closed first phase with a very large number of applicants, plans and proposals for a second, and a subsidy described in more than one way. This guide separates the official pages from announcements and press reports, and says where they disagree.

What is the programme and where does it stand?

The Punjab Portal describes a programme under which 8,000 tube wells currently using electricity and diesel will be converted into solar-powered systems. Successful farmers collect their allotment letters from the DD Agriculture (OFWM) in their district. Dawn reported in May 2025 that the programme was originally to be managed through a centralised bidding process overseen by the Agriculture Department's Water Management Wing, and that the responsibility was later transferred to the Punjab Energy Department. We found no Energy Department page for it, so its present status is unknown.

• Applications are closed. The programme portal says it is not accepting any new applications as the last date to apply was 6 January 2025. The deadline was first 31 December 2024 and was extended.
• The draw is done. The Chief Minister conducted a draw at the launch on 1 February 2025.
• Phase 2 appears only in plans and proposals. A July 2024 report said that in Phase-II another 10,000 tube wells will be transferred to solar energy in collaboration with the federal government, and Dawn repeated the plan on 6 January 2025. An APP report on the 2025-26 budget proposals said Phase 2 proposals are under consideration. We found no Phase 2 application window, portal, quota or ballot. Separately, a July 2025 Zameen News report, which does not call it Phase 2, said the Chief Minister announced a five-year target to solarise 500,000 tube wells.
• We did not find it on the department's 2026-27 list. The Agriculture Department's page of Chief Minister initiatives is undated, but its allocation column is headed 2026-27, and it does not list tube well solarisation (our reading of the page).

A group of 2026-dated blog pages claims a new registration round with up to 80 percent subsidy. None of those we read cites an official notice, and they conflict with the official pages, so we did not use them. A Solar Citizen price page likewise refers to a Punjab scheme "Phase 1 and 2" and says Phase 2 expanded coverage, without citing an official notice.

How many farmers applied?

Several numbers circulate. They are application counts from different speakers and dates, and none is a count of beneficiaries.

All of these refer to the first phase and its 8,000 places. The 7,988 farmers in the July 2025 progress report are selected farmers, not applicants.

What does the subsidy pay?

The programme's official pages give fixed rupee amounts by system size, not a percentage.

The farmer pays the remaining cost. The tiers are in kilowatts, not horsepower. The amounts come from the Punjab Portal page and a government press release of 2 January 2025, which words the tiers as up to 10, 15 and 20 kW.

Other statements disagree with the flat tiers:

• 67 percent. Business Recorder reported on 27 July 2024 that the Chief Minister said a farmer would pay just 33% and the government 67%. That was at the planning stage, and Dawn repeated it on 6 January 2025. It does not appear on the launched programme's official pages.
• Up to 95 percent. On 15 May 2025 the Chief Minister spoke of a subsidy up to 95 percent. We found no official page that explains how it relates to the flat amounts.

We found no official page that gives a total system price. Pakistan Solar Traders asks an indicative Rs 1,200,000 to Rs 1,450,000 for a complete 10 HP system and Rs 1,650,000 to Rs 1,900,000 for 15 HP, including pump and installation but excluding borewell drilling and civil works (page modified 2026-08-16). A flat Rs 500,000 is roughly 34 to 42 percent of the 10 HP range, but that pairs a subsidy tier for converting an existing tube well with a price for a complete system with a pump, and a 10 kW system is not necessarily a 10 HP one, so it does not show the real share. The same page also claims up to 80% government subsidy, which no official page we read supports.

The budget is also reported differently: a government press release says Rs. 9 billion, the department's pre-launch scheme sheet says Rs.9,887.42 million, and other reports give Rs 2.5 billion (Business Recorder, November 2024; the scheme sheet reads Rs 2,500 million for 2024-25) and PKR 1 billion. We did not reconcile them.

Who was eligible, and what did applicants submit?

The Punjab Portal page, which carries no date, lists these criteria:

• A resident of Punjab with a valid CNIC, one farmer per family.
• At least 1 acre of land in Punjab. The official page states a minimum with no maximum. A July 2024 report on the plan said farmers owning 25 acres would be eligible, and Dawn in May 2025 described beneficiaries as holding between one and 25 acres.
• An existing electric or diesel tube well.
• For an electric tube well, a connection installed on or before 30 October 2024 and a 3-phase connection.

The SMU page and the department's pre-launch scheme sheet, both cited here, list a 15 kW limit, a connection date of 31 March 2024 and a water table limit of 60 feet, which the Punjab Portal page does not state. Dawn reported on 6 January 2025 that the official website and the department disagree on eligibility.

Documents: a CNIC, the Fard-e-Malakiat as evidence of ownership, and for electric tube wells the last paid bill of the connection as proof of tube well ownership. Non-payers and defaulters were not to be considered. The online form carried a typed declaration, and a physical verification of the installed tube well was to follow the ballot. Selected farmers submit their share within the given time frame.

Two items in older versions of this guide belong elsewhere. The 12.5-acre limit and the affidavit on stamp paper are conditions of the separate PRIAT solar-for-drip scheme. We found no bank IBAN requirement in any source.

How was it delivered?

• Selection. The Agriculture Department's scheme sheet, a pre-launch draft, says successful farmers will be selected through a balloting process against the district quota, and the launch item describes a draw. The district quota table totals 4,000 diesel and 4,000 electric tube wells, while the Chief Minister's launch statement described 87% diesel and 13% electric. We did not reconcile these.
• Allocation. An APP report dated 12 March, with the year read from its 2025-26 budget headline, said 8,000 farmers had received allocation letters through a digital lottery and 12 service and supply companies were on board.
• Installation. At launch the Chief Minister said the successful farmers in the draw will select the vendor of their district and get their solar system installed.
• Pace. At launch the target was to complete the first phase by June. On 10 July 2025 Business Recorder reported revised letters issued to 7,988 selected farmers, inspection of 7,670 sites complete and 652 tube wells installed, with the process to conclude by September 2025. Dawn reported delays on 3 May 2025, noting that over 450,000 farmers had submitted applications.

The programme's own portal, not pitb.gov.pk, is the address for applications and the ballot-result lookup. We could not verify what role PITB had in the ballot.

Is there another Punjab solar subsidy open?

The Agriculture Department's PRIAT programme (2022-23 to 2026-27) pays 75% of the solar system that runs a drip or sprinkler system for the first 7.5 acres and 60% for 7.6 to 12.5 acres. It needs a drip or sprinkler system first, the farmer signs an affidavit not to use it for flood irrigation, and the department's pages disagree on whether places go by ballot or first come, first served. The details and conditions are in our guide to drip irrigation and solar economics. Confirm with your district OFWM office that it is open.

Summary and Recommendations

• Do not plan around a Phase 2 date. We found none.
• Check cmstp.punjab.gov.pk and your district Agriculture (OFWM) office for any new notice. The Punjab Portal page lists helpline 0800-17000.
• Treat any page claiming a new round and a percentage subsidy as unconfirmed unless it cites an official notice.
• If you are a selected farmer, ask which subsidy applies to you: the flat tier for your system size, or a percentage.
• Compare retail quotes by what they include. See solar tube well versus diesel for the fuel side of the sum.

Correction, 28 October 2026: earlier versions of this guide described a "Phase 2" enrolment with a 67 percent subsidy, a 12.5-acre limit, a bank IBAN and stamp-paper affidavit requirement, PITB balloting, system values and farmer shares. The 530,000 applicants belong to the first phase. The 67 percent figure was a July 2024 plan statement, and the 12.5-acre limit and stamp-paper affidavit belong to the separate PRIAT scheme. The system values, farmer shares, bank IBAN requirement and PITB balloting could not be traced to any source. They have been replaced.