Big vs small Punjab farmers & trauma of free power
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Vinod Gupta
Jun 19, 2024, 8:15:50 PM6/19/24
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The Tribune’s deep dive into the power crisis in the state — Part II : Big vs small Punjab farmers & trauma of free power
Over 4,500 MW of the over 16,000 MW of power required in the state today is being used for running pumps in agricultural fields.
A few years ago, the Punjab Government asked the Centre for International Projects Trust to conduct a survey on the usage of groundwater via tubewells in each block of the state. One village in a block and 25 operational landholdings in each of these villages were chosen for the study. The data on tubewell connections that came up in the study was an eye-opener… but maybe only for the officials, and not for the political class that celebrates free power subsidy to farmers.
Tubewell connections
14.50 lakh total tubewell connections in the state
10,000 farmers have four to nine tubewells
29,322 farmers have three and 1.42L farmers have 2 connections
Inequitable Subsidy distribution
Rs 2,500 per hectare at places like Pathankot, where tubewell connections are sparse as compared to Malwa region
Rs 25,000 per hectare in Sangrur and Barnala areas of the Malwa belt
Deeper aquifer, more powerful pumps
- The depletion of water table has led to increase in the number of submersible electric motors installed in the fields; the number has gone up from 6.19 lakh in 2009 to 9.79 lakh in 2017
- Over 90 per cent farmers have installed submersible motors now and this has led to an ever-increasing number of high BHP motors for groundwater extraction
- The number of motors with more than 10 BHP increased from 2.74 lakh (24% of the total) in 2010 to 4.58 lakh (34% of the total) in 2020, says economist Ranjit Singh Ghuman
What experts say
Over 81 per cent of the subsidy is availed by medium and large farmers (having over 10 acres of land). This should go only to the small and marginal farmers. Ranjit Singh Ghuman, Economist
Though it is the need of the hour to give subsidy to only economically vulnerable farmers, the political class fears its repercussions (as regards their vote bank). Kesar Singh Bhangu, Economist
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