CM YS Jagan Reassures On Free Power As AP Cabinet Approves Agri Cash Transfer Scheme

AMARAVATI: Quashing the narrative in a section of the media, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy on Thursday asserted that the free electricity being given to the farmers in the state will remain free forever and that not even a single power connection will be disconnected. He made it clear that there won’t be any burden on the farmers due to the reforms being initiated by the government.

The chief minister came up with these categorical assertions during a meeting of the state cabinet held here on Thursday. Significantly, the meeting, chaired by YS Jagan, has approved the agriculture electricity cash transfer scheme.

Speaking on this occasion, the chief minister said that the government would regularize all agricultural electricity connections in the state. Giving the details of the scheme, he said: “The cash equivalent to the electricity bill will be directly transferred into the bank account of a farmer who has an agricultural power connection. The same money, the farmers will be paying to the discoms. There will not be any burden, not even a single penny, on the farmer due to this,” he said.

Training his guns on Chandrababu Naidu, he said: “Chandrababu had in the past said that free electricity is not feasible. He ridiculed the very concept, saying that electric wires will only be useful for drying up clothes, if free power is given. The very same Chandrababu has the dubious distinction of ordering police firing in Basheerbagh on farmers who protested against steep power tariff hikes. They (Chandrababu Naidu’s regime) left behind close to Rs 8,000 crores of pending dues that were to be paid towards free electricity. After YSR Congress Party came into power, we have cleared all those dues. We have upgraded electricity feeders at a cost of Rs 1,700 crores.

“We have been providing quality electricity. The day-time nine-hour supply of electricity is already being implemented in 89 percent of feeders. This will be in 100 percent implementation from the coming Rabi season. We will fortify this scheme further with an additional 10,000 megawatts of solar power. We have been devising plans to ensure that there are no obstacles for the implementation of free power supply. Only YSR has the patent on free electricity supply to the farming community. Hence, his name for the scheme,” was how YS Jagan spoke about the scheme.

Chief Minister’s Principal Advisor Ajay Kallam has already announced that the state government is compelled to introduce the cash transfer scheme for agriculture electricity only due to the reforms being brought in by the Central government.