Punjab seeks financial assistance from govt for solarisation of agri-pumps

The Punjab government has sought financial assistance from the Centre for the solarisation of agriculture pump sets with up to 15 horsepower on the pattern of northeast and hilly states.

In a letter written to RK Singh, Union Minister for Power and New and Renewable Energy, Punjab Minister Aman Arora said the ministry has made a provision for providing central financial assistance (CFA) to farmers of northeast and hilly states for their pumps up to 15 HP capacity last month.

But, this facility is available only for up to 7.5 HP agri-pumps in Punjab, he pointed out.

The financial assistance is given under the PM-KUSUM (Pradhan Mantri Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthan Mahabhiyan) scheme.

"Punjab was the pioneer state in the green revolution, which is rightly known as the food bowl of India. Thus, farmers of the state also need hand-holding of the Central government and they also deserve to avail benefits of the scheme.

"Punjab is predominantly an agrarian state, and around 14 lakh electric motor pumps and 1.50 lakh diesel pump sets are being utilised for irrigation in the state," Arora said in the letter.

The minister said the capacity of the majority of pumps ranges from 10 HP to 15 HP in the state.

The cost to solarise these pumps would be very high and out of the reach of the farmers. Hence, to bring the cost of these pumps into the ambit of the farmers, financial assistance is required to be provided for higher capacity pumps, he said.

In the letter, he mentioned that the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has been providing 30 per cent CFA for the solarisation of agriculture pump sets of capacity up to 7.5 HP under the PM-KUSUM scheme.