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Chennai: Kuruvai farmers of Mayladuthurai and other coastal districts of Tamil Nadu are worried that their crops would be lost if free power subsidy being given now is revoked following the Central Electricity (Amendment ) Bill 2022 tabled in Parliament. According to the agriculture department of Tamil Nadu, more than 90 percent of the farming was dependent on groundwater and borewells, for which power is essential.
Madanasamy, a Kurvai farmer at Mayladuthurai told IANS, “We are not certain what is in store for the subsidised electricity power for us Kuruvai farmers. We are dependent largely on groundwater pumping for the water sources for our farming rather than water from Cauvery river. Our crop is from April to August and with groundwater being the main source for our water needs, if the government revokes subsidy, then I fear that our crops would be lost.”
K.R. Kannan, another farmer said, “We have been cultivating our Kuruvai crop from April to August and Rabi from October to January. If free power is revoked, then we will be forced to totally depend on Cauvery water which will be available only in June. This means our crops are destroyed in the days to come.”
It may however be noted that the Union government has categorically stated that there won’t be any provisions that affect existing agriculture subsidies. Farmers also said that paddy is a crop that requires a regular water supply and if the power subsidy is revoked, then the farmers may have to skip the Kuruvai crop and move ahead towards the Rabi crop depending on river water for irrigation.
The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on August 03 and passed on August 08. It seeks to provide consumers options in choosing their electricity providers. It calls for the formation of the Electricity Contract Enforcement Authority (ECEA), which will deal with contract-related disputes in the electricity sector. Further, the bill proposes penalties in case of non-compliance by licensees in meeting the obligations. It requires all licensees to purchase or produce a minimum specified quantity from renewable energy sources as a percentage of their total electricity consumption.
Several bodies and political parties have opposed the Electricity (Amendment) Bill, 2022. Ahead of the monsoon session 2022, the All India Power Engineers’ Federation (AIPEF) wrote to the Union Power Minister R K Singh and Chief Ministers of all states, requesting to stop the bill. The federation suggested the government hold discussions with electricity sector workers and power consumers. The bill faces criticism that it would dilute the power of the states and shift it to the Centre and its agencies. Critics further say the bill allows private players an easy entry into the electricity sector, thus granting them an undue advantage.
(With inputs from agencies)