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The Andhra Pradesh Government will appoint a coordination committee to finalise the proposal to go for the exclusive budget for the agricultural sector.
The Finance Minister has agreed to carve out a separate budget for the primary sector. But we need to distinguish allocations for this sector and other allied sectors,” the official said.
The Ministers, Principal Secretaries and Commissioners of these sectors are expected to be members of the committee, which will discuss the nitty-gritty of the upcoming Budget.
“Though time is very short for preparation of the budget, the Government has decided to go ahead with the separate budget for agriculture,” a top official of Agriculture Ministry told Business Line .
Power crisis
The Agriculture Budget is all set to address the issue of power shortage. It would comprise a Rs 100-crore pilot project to introduce solar pump sets in 3-4 districts.
“The Chief Minister has okayed the proposal. The file is with the Finance Minister for his approval,” the official said.
The cost of each pump set is expected to be around Rs 4-6 lakh.
“The Agriculture Minister Kanna Lakshminarayana is very keen on this project as the agricultural sector is reeling under severe power crisis. Each set is expected to supply nine hours of power. This would augment the regular supply,” the official said.
The State is deliberating on the huge initial costs that might create a hindrance in popularising the scheme. It is discussing on the final cost of the unit and the subsidy component.
Acute shortage of power has hit the farming community this summer, forcing the officials to appeal to the farmers not to go for the water-intensive paddy.
This, in turn, would put pressure on the demand of power, which is already in short supply.
“We are planning to address this issue in the Budget. If successful, we can expand the scheme to other parts of the State,” the official said.
> kurmanath.kanchi@thehindu.co.in
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