The Andhra Pradesh government is making all necessary preparations to start providing qualified farmers with electricity subsidies on September 1. The survey conducted to identify the aqua farmers who cultivate less than 10 acres in the Aqua zone will also come to an end this month.
It must be noted that around 3.89 lakh acres of fresh water and 1.40 lakh acres of salt water are being farmed in the state. These have 63,343 connections to the electric grid. There are 1,35,842 aqua farmers, including 95,277 with less than 2.5 acres, 22,358 with less than 2.5 to five acres, 11,809 with less than 5 to 10 acres, and 6,398 with more than 10 acres, according to e-Crop Booking.
But the incentive for electricity also helps farmers who are farming in non-aquatic areas. In light of this, the government decided to limit the eligibility for the power subsidy to small aqua farmers operating on no more than five acres in the first zone. Later, the limit was raised to ten acres.
The Departments of Electricity, Revenue, and Fisheries later collaborated on a survey to determine which farmers are truly cultivating within the aqua zone. Details like who owns the energy connection, how much land is covered by the connection, and if the pond is licensed are all the details.
The government intends to finish this survey, which was performed in May, by the end of the month in order to identify the eligible, and those lists are then forwarded to the appropriate DISCs. It is already 95% complete. According to government laws, plans are being made to offer power subsidies to aqua farmers who fall under the zone of fewer than 10 acres beginning September 1.
The zone's eligible aqua farmers are advised to visit the Fisheries Assistants or Fisheries Development Officer in RBK with a copy of their lease agreement, a land record, and a certificate of culture obtained from VRO in order to enroll their information and become eligible for electricity subsidies.
