tamperfinderNew Delhi: While the Delhi government is trying flatter them with a
draft agricultural policy, farmers of the national capital do not seem to be very happy
with the ruling Aam Aadmi Party on the issue of high electricity charges every month.
“The Arvind Kejriwal government is being praised across
the country for low electricity charges in Delhi. They claim to give the
cheapest electricity to the Delhi people but farmers are made to pay higher
rates,”, a farmer from West Delhi’s Hiran Kudna village told IANS.
“The fixed charge on the electricity meters on our tubewells
is very high. This is costing us a lot, despite the fact that we don’t use the
tubewells throughout the year. Any farmer will use the tubewell only during the
harvest seasons, which account for a maximum of two months. But we have to pay
high charges to the electricity department throughout the year,” he said.
The fixed electricity charge for agriculture use in Delhi is
Rs 125 per kilowatt per month as per the tariff schedule.
“So, if a farmer has
a meter of 10 kilowatts to run a tubewell, he will have to pay a minimum of Rs
1,250 per month. The charge increase with the increase in the kilowatt. This is
excluding the charges we have to pay for usage,” said another farmer.
“There are months when we have to have over Rs 4,000 for
the electricity. This increases the overall cost of production and we are not
getting any help from the government in this regard,” he added.
Echoing similar sentiments, 65-year-old farmer said the
profit margin of farmers has reduced because of this high charge.
“The Kejriwal government came to power with a promise to give cheaper electricity and free
water to people. But the opposite happened with the farmers. We have to pay so
much in terms of fixed charge even though we hardly use the tubewells. Per
acre, we get a profit of Rs 10,000 and of that if Rs 5,000 or Rs 6,000 is given
for electricity, what is our benefit,” he said.
Some farmers also said that they have to give the fixed
charge even when they purchase meters on their own, while some others said they
have to pay this charge for the electricity they use in their homes as well.
Although no official data is available, at an estimate, there
are about 20,000 families of farmers in the national capital. Agriculture in
Delhi is being done on about 75,000 acres of land.
When contacted, Delhi Development Minister, Gopal Rai, said
the government has acknowledged the issue raised by the farmers and is
discussing the matter.
“We are having a discussion on the matter. We have got
to know about the issue recently. Our government is working to make the life of
a farmer easy. We will find a solution for this very soon,” Rai said.
While several farmers are demanding the reduction of the
fixed charge, some others demand it free.
“The farmers in the national capital are very less in
number. The government can give us electricity free of cost,” said
72-year-old farmer.
Apart from electricity, the farmers are also demanding a
Delhi Agriculture Commission.
“The Commission will help the farmers in the issues
faced by them,” another farmer Man Singh Dagar said, adding that the
commission should be headed by a local farmer so that he understand ground
level issues.
In December last year, the Delhi government had formed an
expert committee comprising a senior scientist from the Indian Agricultural
Research Institute, farmers representatives and officers of the Agriculture
Department for drafting the Agricultural Policy for Delhi.
The Committee has deliberated upon various issues pertaining
to agriculture in Delhi, including the implementation of recommendations of the
Swaminathan Committee Report on the Minimum Support Price (MSP).
Apart from MSP, the government is also working and gathering
inputs on the possibilities of organic farming and the problem of land
shrinking. Impact of urbanization is also being worked out on in the policy, a
senior official told IANS.[Source-ETEnergyworld]
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