1.5 lakh power connections for farm sector

The Andhra Pradesh government on Sunday sanctioned 1.5 lakh new agricultural power connections as part of its efforts to provide additional irrigation facilities for dryland agriculture.

As per the sanction given by chief minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy, 50,000 new connections will be given during the current fiscal under free power category while one lakh connections will be provided under Tatkal scheme in the paying category.

The sanction covers all distribution companies and provides 15 per cent quota to scheduled castes and six per cent quota to scheduled tribes.

According to an official statement, the initiative is part of the state government's time-bound programme to bring an additional 5 to 6 lakh acres of dryland under well irrigation.

District-wise sanction of new connections has also been worked out on the basis of the total agricultural services existing in the state.

Incidentally, Andhra Pradesh has the largest number of agricultural pumpsets when compared to any other state in the country. The state has 23.78 lakh pumpsets surpassing Maharashtra's 22 lakh agricultural power connections.

By providing 1.5 lakh additional power connections, the state will have over 25 lakh agricultural pumpsets by the end of the current fiscal.