Madhya Pradesh govt announces electricity subsidy of Rs 8,700 crore, says farmers to benefit most

Bhopal: The Madhya Pradesh government has decided to grant subsidy of Rs 8,700 crore to consumers on power tariff implemented by the state electricity regulatory commission for 2017-18. According to the government, farmers will benefit the most because Rs 8,400 crore of the total amount will be availed by the agriculture sector. [caption id=“attachment_3417102” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. AFP[/caption] The decision was taken at the Cabinet meeting held on Tuesday under Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. The state government will pay the subsidy amount to the concerned power companies. “The Cabinet meeting under the chief minister decided to give the subsidy of Rs 8,700 crore to electricity consumers on the electricity tariff being implemented for the fiscal year 2017-18 by the Madhya Pradesh Electricity Regulatory Commission. The benefit of Rs 8,400 crore will be availed by the agricultural consumers,” an official release said on Wednesday. As a result of this decision, the subsidy of Rs 1.75 per unit will be given to agriculture consumers who have permanent connections. Furthermore, the Cabinet also decided to expand fixed due date of short-term agriculture loan of Kharif season, being disbursed to farmers without interest through cooperative banks for 2016-17, from 28 February to 28 March, 2017. “The Cabinet also approved providing free power to the well pumps of 5 HP (Horse Power) belonging to the agriculture consumers of SC and ST communities who hold one hectare land,” it stated. Madhya Pradesh recently witnessed large scale protests by farmers demanding better remuneration for their agri produce and a complete loan waiver. Five farmers were killed in police firing at Mandsaur earlier this month during the violence. In a bid to placate farmers, government had announced a slew of measures.