Excelsior Correspondent
JAMMU, Apr 9: Vice Chairman, Jammu and Kashmir State Advisory Board for Development of Kissans and MLA, Nowshera, Radhay Sham Sharma has urged the Government to charge uniform tariff of Rs 1000 per annum from the farmers having 0.5 KW irrigation water pumps with a provision for time bound sanctioning of power connection.
Interacting with a delegation of farmers which met him here today, Sharma strongly recommended to the Government that a unit of 0.5 KW (5HP) electric pump set be charged electric tariff on flat rate of Rs 1000 per annum, with electric connections given on time bound basis.
He said that the installation of electric/diesel irrigation pump sets in areas with high water table has greatly benefited the farmers and helped them to increase agricultural production. “The subsidy linked scheme of boring of shallow wells and installation of pump sets of agriculture and other departments is gaining popularity with farmers and at present there are about 20,000 bore wells existing in the State”, he added.
He said most of the beneficiaries are small and marginal farmers and mainly located in border belt of Kathua, Samba, Jammu and Rajouri districts. He said potential area starts from Lakhanpur to Sunderbani-Nowshera and up to Planwala (Akhnoor).
The delegation of farmers comprising D. P. Khajuria, Kulbhushan Khajuria, Rajesh Bitu, Tajinder Singh Wazir and the representatives of J&K Agri Entrepreneurship Development Association (JKAEDA) held detailed discussion with the Vice Chairman and apprised him that the electric power supplied to them was being utilized for three months only, whereas they are being charged electric tariff on flat rates for the entire year. They said power availability in rural area is erratic and most of the pumps in border areas remain un-utilized for certain reasons.
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