Gujarat: Govt changes name of daytime electricity scheme for farmers to Kisan Sarvoday Yojana

The first phase of the scheme will be virtually launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 24.

In an unusual development, the Gujarat government has changed the name of its ambitious scheme of providing electricity to all the farmers during daytime from Dinkar Yojana to Kisan Sarvoday Yojana. The first phase of the scheme will be virtually launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on October 24.

The change in the scheme’s name became known on Tuesday in a government release that announced its virtual launching by the PM on October 24.

When contacted about the change, Energy Minister Saurabh Patel said, “The name has been changed (from Dinkar Yojana to Kisan Sarvoday Yojana) because it was a better name. There is no other reason.”

Dinkar is the Gujarati word for the sun. The scheme was announced by the Gujarat government in its last state budget. With a total expenditure of around Rs 3,500 crore, the state government has a plan to provide electricity to all the farmers for agriculture purposes during daytime by 2022.

In the first phase of the scheme, 1,055 villages of Dahod, Junagadh and Gir Somnath districts will start getting electricity for agriculture purposes in the daytime. The scheme targets around 17.25 lakh farmers in the state. Under the scheme, farmers will get electricity in two slots of eight hours each between 5 am and 9 pm. It has been a long pending demand of farmers in Gujarat to get electricity for agriculture purposes during daytime since they risk exposure to poisonous insects and wild animals in the fields during night hours, among other reasons.

As per the release, there are total around 17.25 lakh agriculture power connections, divided into 153 groups, in the state. These groups are getting three-phase power connections for eight hours in 24 hours. These groups get power supply in such a manner that some get power supply for eight hours in day, some get power supply in night and some get power supply partially in day and partially in night. Their turns rotate every week.

Availability of power in the day time and infrastructure to distribute the power are believed to be the major reasons why all the farmers are not getting the same in the daytime. So, to provide electricity to farmers in the day time, the government is upgrading its power infrastructure and increasing the power availability through renewable energy sources like solar energy and wind energy.

📣 The Indian Express is now on Telegram. Click here to join our channel (@indianexpress) and stay updated with the latest headlines

For all the latest India News, download Indian Express App.