State to bear cost of smart meters for all farmers

In a move to clear apprehensions among farmers about impending financial burden due to fixing of electricity meters to agricultural pump sets, Chief Minister Y. S. Jagan Mohan Reddy has decided that farmers be given smart meters free of cost.

Announcing this decision at a press conference here on Wednesday, Ajay Kallam, Chief Advisor to government, said Discoms had been given the responsibility of installing meters at no cost to the farmers. Though the advisor did not reveal the cost of procuring and installing smart meters, sources said the government would have to bear `700-`1000 crore towards this.

Explaining the Direct Electricity Cash Transfer System, he said distribution companies will open exclusive bank accounts to all the farmers into which the bill amount would be deposited every month by the finance department and the same would be transferred to the Discoms immediately.

Mr Kallam also dismissed the Opposition propaganda that the government would do away with the free power scheme to farm sector. “It is a scheme that was introduced by the Chief Minister’s father late Dr Y. S. Rajasekhar Reddy and Mr Jagan Mohan Reddy is determined to continue it at any cost,” he pointed out.

Maintaining that the Centre was keen on implementing the Direct Benefit Transfer in power subsidies also, the Chief Advisor said several States like Andhra Pradesh and Telangana opposed certain clause of the draft Bill proposed by the Centre. The Chief Minister has formulated a new policy that fits the Centre’s guidelines without compromising on the free power to farm sector, he added.

Mr Kallam accused the previous Telugu Desam government of destroying the power sector by ignoring thermal power generation and buying power from private producers at exorbitant costs. Despite surplus production by 12 per cent, then government purchased power at higher cost just to pocket kickbacks. As a result, the arrears to both Discoms and IPPs mounted, he said adding that the present government paid `34,384 crore to Discoms including `20,122 crore owed by the previous government. In addition, the government also cleared dues of `17,904 crore to the power producers.