3 min readChandigarhMay 22, 2023 03:24 AM IST
First published on: May 22, 2023 at 03:20 AM IST
The Haryana government has refused to implement a circular of the power distribution corporations meant for high penalty on the farmers for power theft in the agriculture sector.
Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar insisted on Sunday that the circular has been withdrawn.
He said that the circular was issued by the corporations on the recommendation made by the Haryana Electricity Regulatory Commission (HERC), adding that “the state government is not bound to follow its order”.
Khattar said: “With the circular issued by the corporations, huge fines were being imposed on the farmers. In the circular, the amount of fine was made up to Rs 6 lakh; whereas earlier if a farmer’s default was found, he was fined between Rs 2,000 and Rs 20,000. As soon as the state government came across this circular, it was decided that in the interest of the farmers, we will not allow this circular to be implemented.” He also said “the government is taking 10 paise per unit tube well electricity bill from the farmers, but it did not seem right to impose a heavy penalty”.
Line loss decreased from 34% to 11%
The CM called upon the farmers to not indulge in power thefts. He said the government has improved the infrastructure of domestic and industrial electricity. “The line loss which was 34% in 2014 has come down to 11% now. The power corporations have benefited a lot from this,” he said, adding that after Gujarat, two Haryana corporations – UHBVN and DHBVN – have been included in the A-plus grade after improving the infrastructure.
He said that the state government has given 61,500 new tube well connections, besides 50,000 solar pump connections under the PM Kusum Yojana. “In this way, huge relief has been provided to the farmers by giving more than 1 lakh tube well electricity connections,” he added. “The government has put a condition that the farmers will get tube well connections in the areas of the dark zones only when they will adopt micro irrigation. We all have to take care of the water exploitation limit, otherwise it will be injustice to the next generations,” he said.
Offering a relief to the Antyodaya families of the state, Khattar announced ‘Antyodaya Urja Suraksha Yojana’ in which the electricity connections will be given to such families immediately by waiving off the arrears.
Villages to get 24-hour electricity by end of year: CM
The CM said that Haryana is the first state in the country where 80% of the villages in the rural areas are getting 24-hour electricity. “In 2014, there was round-the-clock electricity supply in 105 villages, but as a result of our efforts, today 5,694 villages are getting 24-hour electricity and by the end of this year, the remaining villages will also be covered under 24-hour power supply by removing deficiencies,” he asserted.
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