The availability of energy at an affordable cost is critical in accelerating progress in a developing nation like India. As 65 per cent of the population in the country lives in rural areas, improving quality of life in villages remains crucial for bridging the rural-urban developmental gap. Seamless energy supply is pivotal to powering agriculture, industrial units run by MSMEs, small businesses, access to digital education, digital services, and improved healthcare in villages. Climate change impact demands an increasing share of renewable energy in the country’s energy mix. The recommendation by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Rural Development and Panchayati Raj to empower panchayats as energy producers, with legal backing in State Panchayati Raj Acts, is a visionary recommendation for sustainable and eco-friendly development of rural areas of the country. For ecologically fragile rural areas in the Northeast region, where clean energy plays a vital role in reducing environmental impact, empowering panchayats and local bodies to produce energy can be a transformative initiative to balance the infrastructure and connectivity push in the region to overcome development deficits with conservation of ecological integrity. The parliamentary panel recommends that apart from owning renewable energy assets, the panchayats can sell surplus power to electricity distribution companies and create sustainable revenue streams. A concept note, released by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj (MoPR), on ‘Making Panchayats ‘Atma Nirbhar’ through Renewable Energy’ observes that currently, Gram Panchayats (GP) are not recognised and adequately covered under the schemes of the Government of India for providing subsidies for the installation of solar rooftop systems, as well as other renewable energy interventions. However, for India to achieve its goals of addressing climate change, it is important to include GPs as entities for availing government incentives for promoting widespread adoption of renewable energy, it adds. The concept envisages the MoPR collaborating with the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) to initiate necessary changes to include the GPs under all its schemes focusing on the adoption of renewable energy. The parliamentary committee, however, correctly observed that the MoPR’s role is limited to collaboration and identification of projects, with funding largely routed through the MNRE. This dependency, according to the Committee, limits MoPR’s operational autonomy and slows grassroots implementation. The gap in implementation justifies the committee’s pragmatic recommendation that MoPR should establish a dedicated Rural Renewable Energy Fund under its own budget to reduce dependence on MNRE and enable panchayats to directly plan, sanction and implement renewable energy projects. The ‘Gram Urja Swaraj’ dashboard for ascertaining the suitability and inclination of Gram Panchayats towards adopting renewable energy projects shows the idea to make panchayats self-reliant in renewable energy generation is yet to gain ground in the region even though more GPs across the country have shown interest in such projects. The concept note underscores that considerable funds are spent as electricity costs by panchayats, which strains the limited budget of local bodies, particularly for those with poor revenue collection. The renewable energy, in such a situation, presents a viable option for panchayats to cut corners for sustainable and cost-efficient energy systems in rural areas. The states in the region, taking note of this, can help prioritise the role of GPs in renewable energy generation in rural areas for a sustainable pathway for progress. Another critical area, which deserves focused attention by MoPR and MNRE, as pointed out by the parliamentary panel, is the high cost involved in the replacement of energy storage batteries used in solar energy systems. It observes that batteries currently in use are outdated, have limited storage capacity, and stop functioning properly over the period. The committee has rightly pointed out that frequently replacing solar batteries and purchasing new batteries can make using solar energy more expensive in the long run and make it harder for people to afford or rely on solar energy. The committee’s recommendation to MoPR to explore the possibility of procuring the latest upgraded battery with the provision of its replacement to make renewable energy systems work better and last longer can work, provided the panchayat functionaries are empowered to understand such technicalities and have the vision of making their GPs self-reliant. Ironically, the majority of the panchayats have become delivery agents of central and state government schemes and programmes as planning at the panchayat level often takes a backseat, and drawing up a list of beneficiaries dominates their core activities. The Committee’s observation that while regular maintenance is essential to keep solar panels working smoothly, there is an acute shortage of trained/skilled mechanics to repair and maintain solar panels reflects an additional benefit of making GPs the renewable energy producers of training local youth and local mechanics to acquire these skills to leverage new livelihood opportunities. For an idea of self-reliance of panchayats to work, the adoption of a bottom-up approach is essential. Panchayat functionaries realising the transformative potential of panchayats having their own renewable energy systems is crucial for the paradigm shift.