Benefits of Free Electricity to Farmers in Agriculture Sector Pudi Kiran
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Benefits of Free Electricity to Farmers In Agriculture Sector Pudi Kiran Kumar, M.B.A, M.Phil, (Ph.D) Research Scholar, Department of Commerce and Management Studies, Andhra University, Andhra Pradesh – 530003. ABSTRACT considerable progress in the last few decades This paper presents the free electricity in the with its large resources of land, water and srikakulam district In India, farmers use sunshine. India produces all main crops to electricity mainly for energizing irrigation reach the necessity of food, fodder, fibre, fuel pump sets to extract groundwater. The number and inputs for its agricultural industry. India is of electric tube wells has increased presently the world’s largest producer of tremendously over time with the availability of pulses and the second largest producer of rice free electricity. Srikakulam District, which is and wheat in the world. The country is also the located in the north-eastern part of Andhra second largest producer of sugar, after Brazil. Pradesh situated within the geographic The Department of Agriculture and coordinates of 18-20 and 19-10 of North Cooperation under the Ministry of Agriculture, latitude and 83-5’ and 84- 50’Eastern Govt. Of India is the nodal organization Longitude. The district is skirted to a distance responsible for the growth of the agriculture by KandivalasaGedda and Bahuda at certain sector in India. The organization is stretches of their courses while a line of accountable for formulation and heights of the great eastern ghats run from implementation of national policies and North- East.The woes of the country’s programmes intended at achieving quick electricity sector are well-known, but the agricultural augmentation through minimum discussion of emerging groundwater crisis had utilization of land, water, soil and plant remained confined to the obscurity of resources of the nation. technical debates, till recently. Over- exploitation, and consequent depletion, of Farmers are the most agitated community in groundwater in the country is rapidly evolving the state in the context of the ongoing changes into a major crisis, fuelling ever-increasing in the power sector, for al the ills in the power demand for free power and making farm more sector are attributed to their power vulnerable and unviable. consumption. Many of the farmers– organizations argue that the sector does not INTRODUCTION consume the quantity of power attributed to it. India is mainly an agrarian nation with more This is because the duration in which they are than 60% of its population being reliant supplied power and quality of power is such directly or indirectly on agriculture. The that consumption of that much power is Indian agriculture sector has made practically impossible. They contend that the Page 47 number of pump sets, their capacity and the Bay of Bengal on the East. There are nine duration during which they are used are over rivers present in the Srikakulam Dist. The estimated. Given the contribution made by the Nagavali, Vamsadara, Suvarnamukhi, well irrigation to agriculture in the state, the Vegavathim, Mahendratanaya, Gomukhi, number of families dependent on it and its Champavathi, Bahuda and Kumbikotagedda contribution to food security they argue that are the important rivers of the dist. The there is need to continue supply of subsidized Vamsadarariver rises in the Eastern Ghats of power. In this context, they also demand that Orissa state and enters Srikakulamdist in power produced in the hydroelectric stations Bhaminimandal and finally falls in to the Bay be allotted to the agriculture sector. of Bengal near Kalingapatnam. The Nagavali and Suvarnamukhi rivers also originated in the ROLE OF POWER IN SRIKAKULAM Eastern Ghats while Nagavali enters in Srikakulam District, which is located in the Vangaramandal. Suvarnamukhi joins Nagavali north-eastern part of Andhra Pradesh situated at Sangam Village in Vangaramandal and within the geographic coordinates of 18-20 confluences in the Bay of Bengal at Kallepalli and 19-10 of North latitude and 83-5’ and 84- near Srikakulam. The vegavathi river rises in 50’Eastern Longitude. The district is skirted to Pachipenta Village and flow from West to a distance by KandivalasaGedda and Bahuda East, ultimately joining the river at certain stretches of their courses while a line Suvarnamukhi. Gomukhi joins Suvarnamukhi of heights of the great eastern ghats run from at Sirlam Village of Vizianagaram dist. North- East. It is bound on the North by Orissa Mahendratanaya which is a tributary of State, on the west and south by Vizianagaram Vamsadara, joins the latter at Komanapalli District and on the east by Bay of Bengal. The Village in Hiramandalammandal. The total area of the District is 5837 sq.Kms Bahudariver also rises in the eastern ghats enter Srikakulamdist at Boddabada Village of Topography Ichapurammandal and flow through Srikakulam District, formerly known as Ichapuram and Kaviti, Mandasa and reaches Chicacole, is the extreme northeastern District into the Bay of Bengal at Donkuru Village. of Andhra Pradesh, situated within the geographic co-ordinates of 18°-20’ and 19°- The soil of the district is analyzed as sandy, 10’ N and 83°- 50’ and 84°-50’ E. The District clay, loamy, red loamy, black cotton clay and is skirted to a distance by Kandivalasagedda, alluvial soil Vamsadhara and Bahuda at certain stretches of their courses white a line of heights of the In the Srikakulam district the area under the great Eastern Ghats run from North East. forest is 68,641 hectares which constitutes 12% of the total geographical area of the Vizianagaram District flanks in the south and district. The significant products if the forest is west while Orissa bounds it on the north and tamarind, timber, turmeric, hill brooms, gum, Page 48 cashew, pineapple, custard-apple, adda leaves, Need of the study beedi leaves, nuxvomica, soap nuts, marking The woes of the country’s electricity sector are nuts etc. well-known, but the discussion of emerging groundwater crisis had remained confined to Review of literature the obscurity of technical debates, till recently. Bikash Chandra Dash and Sangita (2011)75 Over-exploitation, and consequent depletion, examined the impact of governance reforms of groundwater in the country is rapidly on efficiency, equity and service delivery in evolving into a major crisis, fuelling ever- order to identifying the factors responsible for increasing demand for free power and making the success/failure of reforms in the power farm more vulnerable and unviable.Persistent sector in Orissa. z`It is found from their study power-supply deficit, high level of losses, theft that the success of reforms depends not on and corruption, inability of the power sector to mere change of ownership from public to fully finance the needed investments, poor private. It depends on so many factors like to quality supply and the budgetary burden what extent the stakeholders involved in the imposed by the sector is a formidable list of process are benefited and how the institutions challenges. implement the policies inreality. India can ill-afford these twin crises. Several ElumalaiKannan(2013)76Do Farmers Need attempts in the past to manage the power and Free Electricity? Implications for groundwater crisis have been costly and Groundwater Use in South India, The yielded little. Reliable supply. present study analyses farmers’ perception on free farm electricity and groundwater Objectives of the study extraction based on survey data collected from 1. To discuss the role of the power industry two South Indian states, viz., Karnataka and in Srikakulam district Tamil Nadu. The study is impelled by lack of 2. To examine the free electricity to farmers pragmatic substantiation on farmers’ 3. To offer suggestions and perception on free power and groundwater recommendation. over use and its connection with public policy formulation. The study reveals that benefit Methodology of the study from free electricity differed for different This study is both the quantitative and groups of farmers, and at the same time most qualitative mix of the study . The data farmers reported excess use of electricity collected from the primary sources like leading to over-exploitation of groundwater. A interviewing the respondents and distributed high proportion of farmers did not want free questionnaire to the respondent and also electricity due to its poor quality and frequent through the secondary data the researcher power cuts, and hence expressed willingness collects from the journals reports from the to pay for its use. electricity reforms in India. The statistical Page 49 tools are applied for the study arePercentage Table 3: Number of hours of free electricity method. With the sample size of 300 is sufficient to agriculture purpose Sl.N Opini Frequen Percenta Table 1The use of free electricity is o. on cy ge profitable for agro-production 1. Yes 261 87.0 Sl.N Opini Frequen Percenta 2. No 39 13.0 o. on cy ge Total 300 100 1. Yes 100 100 Source : Primary Data 2. No 0 0 Total 300 100 The above table represents the hours of Source : Primary Data domestic supply does the farmer get per day. 87% of the respondents said yes that the The above table represents the use of free electricity is sufficient to agriculture purpose, electricity is profitable for agro-production. 13% of the respondents said no that the 100% of the respondents said that yes the use electricity is not sufficient to agriculture of free electricity is profitable for agro- purpose production. Table 4:Opinion on get extra hours of free Table 2:Hours of domestic power supply electricity then what will you do does the farmer get per day Sl.N Opini Frequen Percenta Sl.N Opini Frequen Percenta o. on cy ge o. on cy ge 1. Full 1. Irrigat 201 67.0 216 72.0 Time e more 2.