The Madras High Court on Tuesday expressed dismay over Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco) taking years to provide electricity connections to agricultural lands. It stressed the need to expedite the process and provide such connections to farmers without loss of time.
Justice R. Mahadevan told a standing counsel for Tangedco that he had been coming across a number of writ petitions accusing the corporation of not providing agricultural service connections within a reasonable time. “In similar matters, I had directed that there cannot be undue delay in granting power connection to farmers.
“Yet, there seems to be no change. Why should it take about 10 years for granting such connections? The government is easily spending crores of rupees for functions that are conducted for just one day. Why not spend a fraction of that money for agricultural service connections?” the judge asked.
He raised the questions during the hearing of a writ petition filed by C. Ramareddy, 52, of Thummanapalli village in the Hosur Taluk of Krishnagiri district. The petitioner claimed that he had not been provided with an agricultural service connection for his 1.53 acres of farm land used to cultivate tomatoes, cabbage and potatoes.
According to him, the Tangedco rules provide for three different categories of agricultural service connections. He opted for the self-finance scheme of ₹25,000 way back in July 2009 and had been waiting since then.
Replying to a petition filed by him under the Right to Information Act on July 15, 2017, Tangedco officials informed him that service connections had been cleared up to June 30, 2016. However, since his application had been pending for more than nine years, he had approached the court seeking a positive direction.
After hearing the petitioner’s counsel P.T. Perumal, the judge directed Tangedco’s counsel to obtain instructions within a week.