Mumbai: A total of 1,280 villages in Maharashtra have become “free arrears” from electricity bills for farm pumps used on agriculture.
Learned that more than 3.7 lakh farmers in these villages have chosen subsidies / neglect of 66 percent, so cleaning payment of delayed power bills.
A senior official said that other farmers, who still had electricity bills, could take advantage of the “golden opportunity” of cleaning their contributions on March 31.
“They can pay the current bill and 50 percent of arrears on March 31,” he said.
The villages declared free from arrears of power bills were 1,122 in the Conkan region, 93 in Pune District, 61 in Nagpur and 4 in the Aurangabad region in MSEDCL.
The Maharashtra agricultural pump connection policy, which was launched under the guidance of the State Minister of Energy and Nitin Raut, has succeeded in pursuing thousands of farmers throughout the state in the past 12 months to pay the arrears of delayed electricity bills.
While some farmers pay 30 percent of the delayed electricity bill, others pay 50 percent while some have zero arrears at this time, said a senior official.
MSEDC has decided to use the restored money from farmers to create better infrastructure in villages and cities for farmers.
New infrastructure will involve strengthening existing electrical distribution systems, installing high capacity transformers and substations.
It will also involve repairs and maintenance of existing feeders to ensure unbroken supply, said an official.