The Hindu Business Line : New power policy to be announced soon, says YSR

THE State Government will shortly come out with a comprehensive policy regarding free supply of power to the agricultural sector, the Chief Minister, Dr Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy, announced here on Wednesday.

Briefing newspersons after holding a meeting of the representatives of various political parties to discuss the issues pertaining to power, irrigation and children's heart ailments, Dr Reddy said that the Government would also consult the representatives of the farmers organisations, experts and the general public regarding what measures should be taken for providing free power to the farm sector before formulating the policy.

The Chief Minister said that in the past three months unauthorised power connections in the agricultural sector increased from 1.39 lakhs to 3.5 lakhs at a rate of about 70,000 per month.

Such a rapid rise in illegal power connections could lead to the collapse of the distribution system affecting the legitimate consumers.

Dr. Reddy, however, said that on humanitarian grounds unauthorised power connections would not be disconnected till the harvesting of the existing crops wherever the distribution transformers could support the additional load.

This decision was taken with a view to save the standing crops. On the other hand, if the transformers were not in a position to take the additional load, the unauthorised connections would be disconnected immediately.

He pointed out that his Government had already decided to regularise 50,000 unauthorised power connections every year.

Nevertheless, the State Government would examine the possibility of regularising more power connections keeping in view the rapid rise in the number of illegal connections.

The Government's decision comes in the wake of a vociferous demand for the regularisation of all the unauthorised power connections in the State from the opposition parties, particularly from the Telugu Desam Party (TDP) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

TDP leader and former Minister, Dr N. Janardhan Reddy, said that farmers had spent over Rs 1100 crores on drilling bore wells and purchasing pumpsets. If the unauthorised connections were disconnected, 10-lakh acres of standing crops would wither away causing enormous hardships to the farmers.

"We are against disconnection, all the 3.5 lakh unauthorised power connections should be regularised," Dr Reddy told newspersons.

Similarly, BJP State President, Mr Indrasena Reddy, said that his party was opposed to disconnection of the unauthorised connections. Supply of free power was an election promise of the Congress and accordingly the Congress Government should provide free power.

CPI (M) State Secretary, Mr B. V. Raghavulu, said that the Government's policy of providing free power was responsible for the rapid rise in illegal power connections.

His party's suggestion to the Government was that power should be provided free of cost to only those farmers whose land holdings were five acres and below. The power consumed by other farmers should be charged but at subsidised rate.

CPI State Committee member, Mr K. Narayana, said that free power should be provided to be actual agriculturists irrespective of their landholdings. However, such a benefit should not be extended to "corporate farmers".

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