Chennai, August 17: The Tamil Nadu government has clarified that the proposed scheme to replace worn out pumpsets of farmers would be a five-year plan and cover only small and marginal farmers.
Reacting to reports in the media that the scheme of replacing pumpsets on agricultural lands throughout the state would cost the exchequer dearly, the government clarified in a statement today that the scheme was meant only for small and marginal farmers who use 3-5 horsepower pumpsets.
As it would not be possible to supply pumpsets in a year to the lakhs of farmers who would benefit under the scheme, the government plans to phase it would over five years.
The idea was to conserve energy that was being wasted due to the use of worn out pumpsets and at the same time increase productivity on the farm lands, said the statement.
The government had done its maths and it would ensure that there was considerable savings in power with the use of the news pumpsets that might at best cost Rs 15,000 each, the statement pointed out.
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