As part of the economic stimulus, the Center has recently raised the state borrowing limit from 3 % of GDP to 5 % of GDP in 2020-21, which will make available an additional Rs4.28 lakh crore. However, it comes under conditions that part of the increased borrowing limit would be linked to specific reforms in the One Nation-One Ration Card, ease of business, power distribution and the collection of local urban revenue.
Power sector reforms are among the most crucial in Tamil Nadu. The state has 21.4 lakh unmet agricultural power connections. Fixing meters and charging subsidies through a direct transfer of benefits will allow Tangedco to determine how much power has actually been used. Farmers would pay the bill in full and receive the amount of the subsidy paid by the State in which it is made in the LPG. Farmers were quick to protest the proposed reform of the distribution of power, as they feared the fixing meter would expose their misuse of power, and the next step would be to withdraw free power. The Tamil Nadu Government hastened to announce that free power would continue to silence them. The Free Power Scheme (1984) was originally designed to help small farmers draw water with a 5HP motor. Later, it was extended to all farmers.
Unlimited, free and unmet supply has led to misuse. It began with apathy, with engines not turned off, particularly at night, because there is no motivation to save money. As a result , a lot of water and power is going to waste, say TNEB officials. Second, 10HP and 15HP engines began to be used, violating the standard for drawing more water without the knowledge of the TNEB. Without control, many farmers use engines that are 15 to 30 years old and have become power-guzzlers. Since the stakes are high, farmers have resisted the fixing of meters. "In 2000, when EB assessors went to fix metres in Vallanadu in Tuticorin and in Maniyachchi, among other places, they were assaulted with sickles and metre-fixing was stopped thereafter," says S Ilango, leader of Janata EB employees union. The other guilty parties are political parties, especially during elections, when they steal power from overhead wires for public meetings. The EB is also liable, bolstered by political unrest, and the authorities have ignored such misuse.
Free power also helps desertification. The State Ground and Surface Data Center, Erode shows that the water level in Erode fell almost 7 m in just one year in 2017. The next rank is Tirunelveli and Dharmapuri. According to the Central Ground Water Board, of the 137 blocks in Punjab (free power since 1998) reported in 2015, 110 are in the over-exploited category. Such a map also needs to be drawn for Tamil Nadu.
Depletion of the groundwater table has a wide range of ramifications, including making farmers vulnerable to production risks and climate change. The development of powerful water-access machines has contributed to the mining of groundwater as well as local rivers and canals.
While it was a felony, some farmers started selling water.
If we are to have uninterrupted quality resources, we must put an end to abuse of money, unregulated wasting of water and inefficiency in administration. The direct transfer of benefits would help to accomplish this. If Tamil Nadu fails to do that fearful protest from its farmers, the state would not do justice to the rest of the power consumers and their natural resources.
