VIJAYAWADA: The state government is committed to the welfare and sustained growth of aqua farmers, stated energy minister Gottipati Ravi Kumar in the AP Assembly on Tuesday.
To a question from Somireddy Chandramohan Reddy on the implementation of a uniform electricity subsidy for aqua farmers, the minister said the government was effectively implementing the electricity subsidy support for aquaculture activities.
He explained that the Zone and Non-Zone system for aquaculture power supply was being followed. Identification of eligible beneficiaries has been comprehensively carried out by the fisheries department.
He said,”There are no discrepancies in the beneficiary identification process.”
As per the state electricity regulatory commission orders, the applicable tariff for aquaculture was `3.85 per unit. However, in the interest of supporting aqua farmers, the government bore a subsidy burden of ` 2.35 per unit, thereby supplying electricity at a highly subsidised rate of `1.50 per unit, he said.
The minister said that under the previous government, the notified aquaculture zone policy limited benefits to only up to 10 acres. “We have revised these restrictions and taken farmer-friendly decisions to expand the scope of benefits.”
Compared to the YSRC term, the present government has sanctioned 50,000 additional aquaculture electricity connections. At present, 5.21 lakh aqua farmers across the state were benefiting from the subsidised tariff of `1.50 per unit.
Ravi Kumar affirmed that the government was dedicated to the welfare and development of aqua farmers.
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