Bollywood heartthrob Aishwarya Rai and cricketing great Sachin Tendulkar are raking in the moolah from the wind now. Literally.
Both have invested funds into projects of alternative sources of energy in the Satara district of Maharashtra and in Jaisalmer in Rajasthan: namely, windmill projects.
According to P L Aggarwal, collector and district magistrate of Jaisalmer, the two celebrities have invested more Rs 8-9 crore (Rs 80-90 million) each and have helped Suzlon Energy in installing two windmills each.
"Aishwaraya Rai invested the money in Jaisalmer two years ago, while Sachin Tendulkar followed a year later," Aggarwal told rediff.com in a conversation at the Border Security Force office late last week.
According to senior officials of the district electricity board, during the last two years, the screen goddess has collected a cool Rs 1.6 crore (Rs 16 million) as return on her investment, while the batting maestro has received Rs 80 lakh (Rs 8 million)
"They may soon be investing more money in the windmill project in Rajasthan," the electricity board official said.
Over 400 windmills have been set up in Jaisalmer alone, collectively producing 150 megawatts of power. "We have a population of 50,000. Since we do not have big industries, our needs are met by 35 megawatts of electricity. The rest of the power is put on the grid that supplies power to other parts of the state. I can proudly say that our district has 24-hour uninterrupted supply of electricity," Aggarwal said with pride.
He, however, refused to confirm the kind of returns that Aishwarya Rai and Sachin Tendulkar and other investors are getting on their investment. Sources said that many gutkha producers too have invested in the windmill project. Consumers in Jaisalmer pay Rs 3.25 per unit of power, and this is one of the lowest power tariffs in the country.
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