Farmers in Sikar district’s Dhod say they are not receiving the electricity bill subsidy of Rs 833 a month. (Express Photo)
Last September, Prahlad Singh Shekhawat, 72, a farmer in Dhod village of Rajasthan’s Sikar district, paid Rs 1,023 as accumulated electricity charges for July and August, which was billed in September. Since then, it has gone up by nearly Rs 1,700 for the two-month cycle: Shekhawat, 72, paid Rs 2,712 in November 2019, Rs 2,752 in January this year, Rs 2,755 in March, and Rs 2,749 in May.
Until September 2019, farmers in Rajasthan received a monthly subsisidy on power bills amounting to Rs 833, introduced by the previous BJP government in 2018. From September 2019, the Congress government of Ashok Gehlot stopped the subsidy, which was automatically added to the bill, reducing it by Rs 1,666 (Rs 833×2) for the two-month cycle.
And it is here that the bills are hurting them, say farmers.
“At a time we are sustaining losses after the lockdown, it would have eased some pressure on us,” Shekhawat said.
Banwari Lal Pareek, another farmer from Dhod, said:“Officials told us the subsidy amount will be transferred to our accounts (as part of direct benefit transfer, or DBT). I gave all account details, along with names of joint account holders, but I haven’t received the subsidy, even though I have cleared all my bills.”
Citing increasing losses, farmers’ organisations from both sides of the political spectrum have threatened protests.
“We have planned a state-wide protest on June 8, and stopping of this subsidy is one of our issues,” said Amra Ram, former CPI(M) MLA from Sikar and vice-president of CPI(M)-affiliated All India Kisan Sabha (AIKS).
On Sunday, Manilal Labana, state president of Bharatiya Kisan Sangh (BKS), a farmer outfit affiliated to RSS, wrote to the Chief Minister, urging the government to release pending subsidies of Rs 833 per month scheme. Labana wrote that farmers have been forced to boycott payment of electricity bills after the subsidy was stopped and penalties were added to it.
While top officials of Energy department said the scheme is still functional, several officers engaged on ground said the subsidy has stopped. “It’s been at least six months that the scheme has been closed,” said V S Bhati, managing director of Ajmer Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd (AVVNL) — Sikar comes under AVVNL’s jurisdiction.