The AP government is preparing to withdraw the free power scheme to the farmers. Instead, it will pay the subsidy amount directly into the bank accounts of the farmers.
Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy had told the officials to prepare the scheme free power amount to the farmers. The state government had completed the pilot project of fixing meters for the agriculture connections in Srikakulam district.
The scheme was part of the Central government’s programme where the free power to every sector is withdrawn and the subsidy amount is paid to the beneficiary.
The state government found that by fixing meters to all the agriculture connections, the power consumption had come down considerably. The chief minister said that accountability of both the government and the farmers will increase with the meters.
The state government wants to extend the programme to all over the state and fix meters to all the agriculture connections. With this, the farmers would get the bills as per their consumption and they would have to pay it.
The government would reimburse the amount directly into the bank accounts of the farmers. However, the scheme is not framed completely and it is not clear whether the government would pay the bill amount every month or fix some amount in every quarter.
