Solar Panels to Run Agri Pumpsets for Free in Select Villages: DyCM

Kothagudem: Deputy Chief Minister Mallu Bhatti Vikramarka said the state government was planning to boost farmer incomes beyond crop cultivation by encouraging them to undertake the production of solar energy.

Inaugurating a 2.5 MW waste-to-energy power plant in an oil palm factory at Ashwaraopet, Bhatti said the power sector was switching to solar energy from traditional thermal and hydropower generation. The state government has planned to generate 20,000 MW of green energy over the next six years.

Bhatti said solar panels would be set up to run agricultural pumps free of cost in the villages selected for the pilot project. The farmers can get additional income as their solar panels would be connected to the grid, and they could sell unused energy. In addition to this, rooftop solar panels would be installed in these villages.

The minister said oil palm cultivation would be extended to all districts. Stating that the Congress government had accorded top priority to agriculture, he pointed out that Rs 73,000 crore had been earmarked in the Budget for the agriculture sector.

Revenue minister Ponguleti Srinivas Reddy said the state government has undertaken an exercise to make Telangana stand out in oil palm cultivation. He exhorted the farmers to cultivate profit-yielding crops and adopt new cultivation methods to increase their income.

Agriculture minister Tummala Nageswara Rao recalled that he had foiled efforts by some forces during the earlier government to sell the oil palm factory at Ashwaraopet. He asked Bhatti to extend free electricity to oil palm nurseries, for which the erstwhile Khammam was a hub.