The Gujarat authorities has given the farmers a subsidy of Rs 8,233 crore in 2022-23 and Rs 9,771 crore in 2023-24 — totalling Rs 18,004 crore within the final two years — to supply them reduction by way of cost of electrical energy payments, mentioned Power Minister Kanu Desai on Monday.
Desai mentioned this whereas responding to starred questions raised in the course of the Query Hour within the Legislative Meeting.
Giving particulars about agricultural electrical energy connections within the state, the minister mentioned within the final twenty years, 14 lakh new connections have been offered to farmers. As of now, the full variety of agricultural electrical energy connections is over 21 lakh. Furthermore, the farmers in Gujarat have been exempted from paying the distinction in electrical energy tariff, electrical energy responsibility and gas surcharge.
“There was no enhance within the electrical energy tariff of farmers within the final twenty years,” the minister mentioned.
On the problem of subsidy in electrical energy payments in a number of districts within the final two years, the minister mentioned that in Mehsana district, 43,468 farmers have been given Rs 701.44 crore in 2023 and 44,471 farmers got a subsidy of Rs 637.65 crore in 2024. In Amreli district, 1,32,463 farmers have been given Rs 377.41 crore in 2023 and1,35,793 farmers got Rs 339.28 crore in 2024 as a subsidy within the final two years. A minimum of 31,637 farmers in Ahmedabad district have been given an influence subsidy of Rs. 153.04 crore in 2023 and 34,048 farmers obtained Rs 135.09 crore in 2024. In Navsari district, 52,205 farmers have been given a subsidy of Rs 74.87 crore in 2023 and 52,369 farmers obtained Rs 66.92 crore in 2024, Desai mentioned.
Nonetheless, in a further query raised by Chief of Congress Legislative Social gathering Amit Chavda as to why the subsidy quantity has decreased whereas the variety of farmers has elevated over time, the minister replied that the decline in subsidy quantity is because of “slicing of gas fees by the ability era corporations”.
Photo voltaic pumps
Additional, on one other query raised by BJP MLA Prdyuman Vaja from Gir Somnath’s Kodinar on what number of photo voltaic pumps have been offered beneath the PM-KUSUM (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan), the power minister mentioned that the farmers got monetary help for putting in the photo voltaic pumps. Offering particulars about the identical, he mentioned, 3,402 farmers of Narmada district had been offered Rs 14,860 lakh, 449 farmers of Valsad district Rs 1,768 lakh, 356 farmers of Banaskantha district Rs 1,490 lakh, 189 farmers of Chhota Udepur district Rs 591 lakh, 161 farmers of Tapi district Rs 687 lakh and 123 farmers of Gir Somnath 123 have been given help of greater than Rs 630 lakh. Concerning the extra help offered beneath this scheme, a particular provision has been made to supply photo voltaic pump units to farmers within the forest areas of the state.
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“When the ability line is handed by the forest space to supply electrical energy to a farmer or when it isn’t potential to supply conventional electrical energy connection, such farmers are supplied with a photo voltaic pump set by paying a set cost of Rs 6,500 to Rs 12,000 per horsepower as a substitute of 40 per cent contribution. The remaining price is given as a further subsidy by the state authorities,” he mentioned.
“Other than this, farmers in tribal areas are additionally exempted from paying a set cost for photo voltaic energy-powered pump units. That’s, farmers in tribal areas wouldn’t have to pay any quantity beneath this scheme,” he added.
