Punjab Chief Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal today directed the PSPCL to immediately do away with the condition of seeking test report from the eligible legal heir of a deceased for the transfer of tube well connections in their name free of cost even without charging Advance Consumption Deposits (ACD).
A decision to this effect was taken by Mr. Badal in a meeting with the delegation of Bharti Kisan Union (Sidhupur), Punjab led by its President Mr. Pishora Singh Sidhu here at Chief Minister’s residence this afternoon. The Chief Minister asked the PSPCL authorities to follow the same procedure prevalent earlier, for the transfer of connection in the name of legal heir of the deceased on the basis of succession certificate duly attested by the Nambardar or the Sarpanch of the village. He also reiterated that special camps should be organized on campaign basis for transferring tube well connections in the name of bonafide legal heirs on the priority basis in all the villages across the state.
Responding to another demand regarding the Voluntary Disclosure Scheme (VDS) to slash the rate from Rs 4500 to Rs 1000 per BHP for enhancing the load capacity of the motors in view of depleting water table, the Chief Minister asked the Chairman PSPCL to take up the issue with the Punjab State Electricity Regulatory Commission for its timely resolution. To another demand for ensuring uninterrupted power supply for 12 hours duration during the ensuing paddy and Cotton season, he said that all out efforts should be made to provide adequate power supply to the farmers during these operations.
Referring to another demand raised by the delegation regarding the allotment of tube well connections to the applicants whose applications were pending since long, Mr. Badal said that the state government had already framed a new tube well policy for the year 2013-14 to release 25000 Tube well connections in a fair and transparent manner on the basis of seniority. The policy further stipulated that 9000 AP connections would be allotted to the applicants comprising small farmers having land holding upto 2.5 acre and without any tube well connection as on January 1, 1998, 3000 connections for marginal farmers having land holding of more than 2.5 acre and upto 5 acre as on January 1, 1996 whereas the remaining 3000 connections for big farmers having land holding more than 5 acre as on January 1, 1992. Likewise, the Chief Minister also gave directions to the PSPCL for the release of connections to the applicants under the Accelerated Release of Tube well connections (ARTC) Scheme on the priority.
On the plea of delegation to waive off the condition of installation of four star rated company motors under the guidelines of Bureau of Energy Enterprises (BEE) which were too expensive, the Chief Minister asked the PSPCL authorities to make these motors readily available to the farmers on affordable rates in the market. Conceding another demand Mr. Badal directed the PSPCL to immediately constitute a committee to sympathetically examine the case of withdrawing penalties on the farmers who had misused the tube well connections originally sought on priority for drip irrigation/ micro sprinkler system and also look into the revival of disconnected Power Connections in case they revert back to drip irrigation/ micro sprinkler system.
On the issue of restoring the facility of OYT connection to the farmers for shifting the tube well connection from one site to another, the Chief Minister asked the PSPCL to only charge the actual cost of the material and supervisory charges from the consumers in such cases. Mr. Badal also constituted a committee with a representative each from the PSPCL, PAU and Bharti Kisan Union (Sidhupur), Punjab for exploring possibilities to enhance the power consumption of Motors from 1.5 to 2.5 amperes per BHP as these motors were taking extra load due to the depleting water table.
The Chief Minister also okayed the demand of delegation to cover all the Deras/Dhanis having three or more households under urban pattern power supply for 24 hours as already decided in the case of difficult areas of Border/Kandi. He asked the PSPCL to submit a comprehensive proposal in this regard to the state government at the earliest. Mr. Badal also directed the Chairman PSPCL to supply electricity bills to the domestic consumers on the monthly basis within next six months in the villages. This move would save the farmers from undue harassment for making payment of their bills through Banks drafts/ cheques in case the bill amount was over Rs 5000.
In another significant decision the Chief Minister directed the Director General of Police and Principal Secretary Industries to allow the farmers for mining of the earth (Mitti) from their fields for personal/domestic use as now they were unduly harassed by the Police under the pretext of mining provisions. He asked the DGP to issue detailed instructions in this regard to all the SSPs in the state for its strict compliance.Prominent amongst those present on the occasion included Secretary Power Mr. Anirudh Tiwari, Special Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Mr. Gaggandip Singh Brar and Chairman PSPCL Mr. KD Chaudhary.