TN Government To Provide 50,000 Free Agriculture Service Connections To Farmers in FY 2022-23

Electricity Minister V Senthil Balaji informed the Assembly on Tuesday that the Tamil Nadu government will grant 50,000 free agriculture service connections to farmers during the fiscal year 2022-23.

The declaration follows the DMK government's achievement of offering one lakh farm service connections  in less than a year for the first time during the fiscal year 2021-22.

"The action will not only assist to boost production but also extend the land under cultivation, leading to farmers' welfare," the Minister concluded the debate on his department's request for funding.

He stated that the government will take efforts to develop 2,000 MW solar power parks this fiscal year as part of a state-wide push to build 20,000 MW solar energy power stations over the next ten years to fulfil rising electricity demand. He also stated that attempts will be done to establish wind solar hybrid projects.

Earlier, the Minister denied the opposition AIADMK's claim that there were regular power outages in the state, claiming the AIADMK was seeking to create the impression that there were no power disruptions under its tenure. In response to former AIADMK Minister P Thangamani's accusation, he remarked, "On the contrary, there were power outages under your tenure."

Recently, the Tamil Nadu government announced that an amount of Rs 5,157.56 crore will be allocated to Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (TANGEDCO) for the fiscal year 2023 to offer free electricity to all farmers across the state.

Tamil Nadu state agriculture minister MRK Paneerselvam said in a separate agri budget presentation that the state government has earmarked Rs 2,399 crore as the state share of premium subsidy for executing crop insurance plan consistently for 2022-23.

Despite severe budgetary constraints, the state government continues to construct crop insurance schemes to safeguard farmers from agricultural losses caused by natural disasters. Due to the state government's ongoing efforts, a sum of Rs 2,055 crore has been distributed to 9.26 lakh farmers as compensation for the fiscal year 2020-2021.