Chennai, Aug 17 (IANS) The Tamil Nadu government Tuesday said it will run for five years the scheme to give water pump-sets for free to small and marginal farmers. Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi announced the scheme during his Independence Day speech.
The government rejected allegations that the scheme would entail huge investment and would not result in any major power savings — the main objective behind it.
On Sunday, Karunanidhi after unfurling the national flag promised to provide new power efficient water pumps to small and marginal farmers.
‘The old pump sets of small and marginal farmers will be replaced with new power efficient units free of cost, and for other farmers a subsidy of 50 percent will be provided by the government,’ he declared.
Dismissing doubts raised about the scheme, the government said it is aware that the scheme cannot be implemented this year as the industry does not have the capacity to meet the increased demand for power-efficient water pumps.
The government said only farmers in Cauvery Delta region use submersible pumps with 3.5-5 horsepower (hp) motors in a large scale.
Of the 1.9 million pump sets in the state, 1.5 million are of sub-5 hp motors and a majority of the small and marginal farmers fall under this segment.
The average cost of pump sets proposed to be given to the government is around Rs.20,000. The cost of ordinary units used by small and marginal farmers is around Rs.15,000.
According to the government, around 20 percent power saving is expected by its scheme.
The government also said only when the manufacturers fit the motors and prove power savings, payment will be made to them.
