Rooftop Solar Subsidy Not Credited or Rejected? Homeowner Action Guide

Who this guide is for

This guide is for homeowners and residential electricity consumers in India who applied for a rooftop solar subsidy through the National Portal for rooftop solar (the PM Surya Ghar route) and are now stuck. It is useful if:

• Your panels are installed and working, but the subsidy has not been credited to your bank account.
• Your application on the National Portal was rejected or returned, and you are not sure why.
• Your DISCOM has not yet inspected your system or installed the net meter, and the subsidy is waiting on that step.
• A vendor took an advance promising to "handle the full subsidy" and the work or the subsidy never materialised.
• The status on the portal has not moved for weeks and nobody is giving you a clear answer.

It applies to residential rooftop solar applicants. It does not cover large commercial or industrial solar plants, group housing society aggregated schemes, or state-specific solar tenders, which follow different rules. Where your state DISCOM or state nodal agency runs additional state-level incentives on top of the central subsidy, the exact amounts and timelines vary — always confirm the current position on the official portal and with your DISCOM rather than relying on a number you saw in an advertisement.

What you can do this weekend

Friday evening

Log in to the National Portal for rooftop solar with the credentials you used to register. Open your application and read the current stage carefully. The portal usually shows where your file sits — registration, vendor installation, DISCOM inspection, net-meter installation, bank-detail submission, or subsidy release. Take a clear screenshot or save the page as PDF, with the date and any remark visible.

Read any rejection or "returned" remark word for word. Do not guess. The remark often points to a specific fixable problem — a name mismatch with the electricity connection holder, missing documents, a vendor-empanelment issue, or wrong bank details. Note exactly what it says.

Open the bank details you entered on the portal. Confirm the account number and IFSC are correct, the account is active, and the account holder name matches the consumer name on your electricity bill. A mismatch here is one of the most common reasons a Direct Benefit Transfer fails silently.

Saturday

Build your evidence file. Pull together the vendor's quotation and tax invoice, your payment proof (bank transfer, not cash), the empanelled-vendor details, the installation report or completion photographs, your DISCOM feasibility approval, and any net-meter installation or commissioning proof. Keep them in one folder, named clearly.

Work out which single step is actually blocking you, because each step has a different owner. If installation details are not uploaded, that is on the vendor. If inspection or the net meter is pending, that is on the DISCOM. If your bank details bounced, that is on you to correct on the portal. Chasing the wrong party wastes weeks.

Check your DISCOM's status separately. Most state DISCOMs have a rooftop solar or net-metering cell. Find their consumer-care number and email. If your net meter is the blocker, this is the office that has to act, not your vendor.

If your problem is purely that a private vendor took money and disappeared, treat that as a consumer dispute and start a separate evidence trail for it. Note down dates of every promise and payment.

Sunday

Draft your follow-up communications. Write one clear letter or email to the responsible party — the vendor for installation and upload, the DISCOM for inspection and net meter, or the portal grievance cell for a stuck subsidy release. Use the template later in this guide as a starting point. Attach your status screenshot and key documents.

Prepare your grievance text for the National Portal grievance section, so you can submit it first thing Monday. Keep it factual: application number, dates, the stage it is stuck at, and what you want done.

If a vendor has cheated you, draft a separate written demand to the vendor for completion or refund, and save the National Consumer Helpline number (1915) for Monday. Keeping the government subsidy track and the vendor-dispute track separate will save you confusion later.

Documents and evidence checklist

Step-by-step action plan

Step 1 — Log in and read your exact application status

Log in to the National Portal for rooftop solar (the PM Surya Ghar route) with your registered credentials. Open your application and read the current stage and any remark, word for word. Save a screenshot or PDF showing the status, the stage, and the date. This is your baseline document for every follow-up and complaint that comes after.

Step 2 — Understand the steps the subsidy depends on

The residential rooftop solar subsidy is not a payment that arrives the moment you finish installation. It is a Direct Benefit Transfer into your own bank account that is released only after a chain of steps is complete. In broad terms, the chain is: you register on the National Portal and pick a vendor empanelled with your DISCOM; the DISCOM clears feasibility; the vendor installs the system and uploads details; the DISCOM inspects and commissions the net meter; you submit your bank details and final documents; and then the subsidy is processed. If any link is incomplete, the money will not come. The first job is to find the exact link that is broken, because the owner of each link is different.

The precise sequence, document names, and timelines can vary between DISCOMs and states, and the scheme rules can be updated over time. Treat the chain above as the shape of the process, and confirm the current specifics on the National Portal and with your DISCOM rather than relying on a number from an advertisement or a vendor's promise.

Step 3 — Verify your bank account and personal details

Because the subsidy is a DBT to your account, wrong or mismatched bank details are a frequent silent failure. Open the bank details you entered on the portal. Confirm the account number and IFSC are correct, the account is active, and the account holder name matches the consumer name on the electricity bill. If the electricity connection is in one family member's name and the bank account is in another's, that mismatch can stall the transfer. Correct any error on the portal before chasing anyone else.

Step 4 — Pinpoint which step is blocking and who owns it

Map your status to an owner. If installation or document upload is pending, the vendor must act. If feasibility, inspection, or net-meter commissioning is pending, the DISCOM must act. If bank details bounced or documents are incomplete, you must act on the portal. If everything shows complete but the subsidy still has not been credited, the issue is at the subsidy-processing or release stage, which is where the portal grievance and the implementing agency come in. Naming the right owner is the single most useful thing you can do.

Step 5 — Chase the responsible party in writing

Once you know the owner, write to them — do not rely on phone calls alone. For the vendor, send an email or message asking them to complete installation or upload the pending details, with a clear deadline. For the DISCOM, write to the rooftop solar or net-metering cell asking for inspection or net-meter commissioning, quoting your application and consumer numbers. Keep every request in writing with the date and any reference number. Written proof is what makes your later escalation and any RTI effective.

Step 6 — Raise a grievance on the National Portal

If the responsible party does not respond, use the grievance or help section on the National Portal to log a formal complaint. Attach your status screenshot and key evidence. State your application number, the stage it is stuck at, the dates of your earlier requests, and exactly what you want done. Note the grievance or ticket number and the date — you will need it for escalation.

Step 7 — Escalate to the DISCOM grievance forum and CPGRAMS

If the portal grievance does not move things, escalate. File with your DISCOM's consumer grievance redressal forum, which most state DISCOMs maintain for electricity-connection and metering issues. In parallel, lodge a grievance on CPGRAMS at the government grievance portal, selecting the relevant ministry or department, and reference your earlier ticket numbers. CPGRAMS is a useful pressure point when a public authority such as the DISCOM is sitting on your file. For more on combining CPGRAMS with RTI, see our guide on CPGRAMS and RTI complaints.

Step 8 — Use RTI for records, and the consumer route for vendor cheating

Where a public authority holds your file — your DISCOM or the implementing agency are usually public authorities — file an RTI to get the recorded reason for the delay or rejection, the movement of your file, and the current status of your subsidy. See our step-by-step RTI filing guide to do this online. If instead your real problem is a private vendor who took money and did not deliver, that is a consumer dispute: keep your evidence, call the National Consumer Helpline on 1915, and if needed file in the consumer commission. See our companion guide on EV subsidy not received for a closely related subsidy-versus-dealer escalation pattern.

Escalation ladder

Copy-paste complaint template

Replace the text in square brackets with your own details before sending. Use this for the National Portal grievance or for a letter to your DISCOM.

When RTI can help

The Right to Information Act, 2005 applies to public authorities. Your electricity distribution company (DISCOM), where it is government-owned, and the implementing or nodal agency administering the rooftop solar scheme are generally public authorities. RTI can be a strong support tool in a stuck-subsidy situation in these specific ways:

• Getting the recorded reason for delay or rejection: If the portal remark is vague, file an RTI with the Central or State Public Information Officer of the DISCOM or implementing agency. Ask for: "The recorded reason for the delay or rejection of rooftop solar subsidy application No. [your number], the present stage of the file, and the name and designation of the officer dealing with it."
• Tracking file movement: Ask for the noting and movement of your file from the date of application, including the date of feasibility approval, inspection, and net-meter commissioning, and the date the subsidy was sent for processing.
• Confirming the metering and inspection record: If your net meter or inspection seems to be the blocker, ask the DISCOM for the date the inspection was carried out and the date the net meter was installed or commissioned for your connection.

To file an RTI online, see our step-by-step RTI filing guide. The CPIO must respond within the time limit set by the RTI Act. If you get no reply or an unsatisfactory one, you can file a first appeal — see our guide on filing a first appeal under RTI Section 19. For deeper strategy on using RTI to unblock government decisions, The RTI Playbook is a useful companion.

When RTI will not help

RTI has clear limits in a rooftop solar subsidy dispute:

• RTI cannot release the subsidy: RTI gets you information and records, not a payment. Only the DISCOM, the implementing agency, and the portal's subsidy-processing system can actually credit the money. RTI supports your grievance and any further complaint; it does not replace them.
• RTI does not reach a private vendor: If your installer is a private company that took your money and did not deliver, RTI does not apply to its internal records. That is a consumer dispute — use a written demand, the National Consumer Helpline (1915), and the consumer commission.
• RTI cannot fast-track a decision: RTI runs on its own statutory timeline. For speed, the portal grievance, the DISCOM grievance forum, and CPGRAMS are usually faster pressure points than waiting on an RTI reply.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming the subsidy comes automatically after installation: It does not. The DBT is released only after inspection, net-meter commissioning, and your bank-detail submission. Find which step is pending instead of waiting indefinitely.
• Entering bank details that do not match the consumer name: If the electricity connection and the bank account are in different names, the transfer can fail. Align them, or check the portal's rules on whose account is eligible.
• Chasing the wrong party: The vendor cannot install a net meter; the DISCOM cannot upload the vendor's installation report. Map your status to the correct owner before you complain.
• Paying a vendor a large cash advance for "the full subsidy": The subsidy is credited to you, not collected by the vendor on your behalf. Be cautious with any vendor who insists you pay them the subsidy amount up front in cash. Pay by banking channel and keep invoices.
• Not saving the rejection remark: The portal remark usually tells you exactly what to fix. Screenshot it before it changes, and address that specific point when you re-apply.
• Mixing up the subsidy track and the vendor track: A stuck government subsidy and a cheating vendor are two different problems with two different remedies. Run them on separate evidence trails.
• Going silent after one phone call: Verbal follow-ups leave no proof. Put every request in writing with dates and reference numbers so your escalation and any RTI have teeth.
• Believing an advertised subsidy figure as guaranteed: The eligible amount and any state top-up vary and can change. Confirm the current position on the official portal, not from a flyer or a sales pitch.

For a related government-incentive escalation, see our guide on EV subsidy not received after purchase. If your underlying problem is recurring electricity-supply or DISCOM service trouble, the CPGRAMS and RTI route applies there too.