Power sops for farming 'harm ground water'

Lower power tariff structure for agriculture is harming ground water level. Researchers have expressed their concern over low power tariff for agriculture and the resulting harm it does to water level in many states.

This view came out in a session on "Governance in Rural Electricity" at the Silver Jubilee Symposium organised by Indian Institute of Rural Management Anand (IRMA) on "Governance in Development Issues, Challenges and Strategies".

The participants also opposed subsidised power for agriculture.

According to estimates, about 48 per cent of all irrigation water is sourced from ground water in the country.

Two of the participants-Padmanaban and Acharya-also stated that until the early '70s well water was 1-5 metre deep, by the mid '80s it has receded to 10 metre, and today the water table has sunk to an average of 50-150 metre deep.

"Consumption of energy and water are closely tied to productivity of the land and the livelihood of farmers. Highly subsidised power supply policies for agriculture and non-commercial operating practices of utilities have major implications for the overall condition of power sector and associated water resources issues. Agriculture accounts for about 27 per cent of the total electricity consumption in India," stated S Padmanaban, senior energy and environmental advisor for USAID, India, in his paper in association with Chinmay Acharya, programme officer for USAID, India.

In India, water and energy tariffs are lowest for farm consumers, free or nearly free, owing to higher subsidies.

"Agriculture accounts for nearly 30 per cent of the total electricity sales but only five per cent of the total sales revenue in the country in recent time, which illustrates the gravity of the problem. According to Planning Commission report published in 2002, the share of agriculture in electricity sales in 2001 -02 in Haryana was 47.2 per cent, in Gujarat 46 per cent and in Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan about 40 per cent. At the same time, agriculture's share in sales revenue was about 10 per cent in Haryana, 12 per cent in Gujarat and less than 10 per cent in other states," stated Vijayamohnan Pillai, representing Center for Development Studies. Pillai was sharing his views on 'Political Economy of Rural Electrification in India'.

The participants also opined that the present power tariff structure is also not advisable for state electricity boards (SEB) in the long run.

The SEBs should work in the direction to provide consistent power supply unlike now when power in villages is available for limited hours only.

The participants viewed that higher charges from agricultural consumers will become possible with the reliability of supplies.