Agriculture Electricity Cash Transfer Scheme: Benefits of the Scheme

Agriculture Electricity Cash Transfer Scheme : Free power supply to the farming sector is the dream concept of late Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy. After the YSR Government came into power the Chief Minister signed the scheme in May 2004. From 2004 till now the scheme is continuing. Now, the state government is all set to introduce the Agriculture Electricity Cash Transfer Scheme from the financial year 2021- 2022. Under this scheme, the government will provide a free electricity power supply to the farming sector. The government has maintained that the bill amount will be Rs. 8400 crores per year.

Agriculture Electricity Cash Transfer Scheme details

Name of the scheme	Agriculture Electricity Cash Transfer Scheme
Article Category	AP Govt Scheme
Scheme Type	State-funded scheme
State	Andhra Pradesh
Launched by	CM Jagan Mohan Reddy
Authority	Government of Andhra Pradesh
Launch Date	September
Starting from	FY 2022-23
Beneficiary	Farmers of the state
Benefit offered	Free Electricity to farmers
Current Status	Active
Official portal of AP govt	https://www.ap.gov.in/
The official portal for the scheme	Not Available

Objective Of Agriculture Electricity Cash Transfer Scheme

The main objective of this Agriculture Electricity Cash Transfer Scheme is to provide free of cost electricity to all the agriculture sectors present in Andhra Pradesh. Along with that the government also wanted to develop 10000 solar power plants to help the farmers and for uninterrupted free power supply for 30 years in Andhra Pradesh. Farmers are not required to pay any of the amounts on the monthly Power bill. This is quite a great step that has been taken by the previous Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh.

Key features of the Agriculture Electricity Cash Transfer Scheme

Development of agriculture – The primary objective of this project is to ensure that farmers get the necessary assistance that, in turn offers better agricultural yield.
Financial assistance for farmers – Poor farmers often cannot arrange money to pay the power company. With the implementation of this scheme, the state government will provide the necessary funds for power bill payments.
Installation of smart meters – Old meters often take incorrect readings. It impacts the power consumption bill. To avoid such ambiguities, the Andhra Pradesh authority will install smart meters for the benefit of the farmers.
Installation of solar plants – Fuel-generated electricity will not be able to meet the demands. Thus, the Andhra Pradesh government has opted for a cleaner and cheaper source of power. For this, around 10,000 solar power plants will be set up all over the state.
Stable power supply – Advanced power distribution systems and solar power plants will ensure that farmers do not suffer from power shortages. They will receive nine hours of uninterrupted power supply every day.
Expenditure for the scheme – The Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh stated that for paying the bills, the finance department will have to shell out Rs. 8400 crores each year. The state authority will spend another Rs. 1500 crore for installing smart meters. Another Rs. 1700 crore will be utilized for the proper functioning of solar plants.
A total number of agro-power connections – As per the state reports, there are as many as 18.72 lakh farming-based power connections. The implementation of this scheme will encourage other farmers to opt for power connections, and increase agro-production.

How will the free power supply scheme work?

There are three main players in this scheme. First is the Andhra Pradesh government. The second is the farmer, while the third party is the power distribution company.
The farmers need to activate a bank account and apply for receiving the benefits of this scheme.
It is the responsibility of the Andhra Pradesh government to deposit a certain amount in the bank account of the farmers.
This money must be utilized for paying the power distribution company.
Thus, the farmers will no longer have to worry about shelling out any money from their pockets, for power consumption.

Benefits of the Scheme

Quality electricity will be provided to farmers.
Money will be transferred every month to the bank account of the farmers.
As mentioned in the election manifesto continuous free electricity for 9 hours will be provided to each farmer during the day.
Call centers will also be set up to solve the problems and complaints of the farmers. These call centers will be headed by the Secretary of the Power Department.
Under this scheme, authorities are directed not to terminate a single connection.
With this scheme, farmers’ responsibility and accountability will be increased.
There will be no burden of paying electricity bills on farmers.
The government has assured to improve this scheme in the future.
Farmers do not have to a single penny for electricity bills from their pockets. The government will send the electricity bill amount to their bank accounts which they have to pay to the concerned Power Distribution authority.
To get benefits under this scheme, farmers have to open a bank account in their name.
The government has announced to install of smart meters to all the power connections of the agriculture sector. The government will spend an estimated amount of Rs.Rs.1500 crores for the installation of smart meters for agriculture connections.
The government has also announced to provision of nearly 10000 solar power plants for the farm sector in the coming years under this scheme. Through this initiative, the AP Government’s goal of green energy will be accomplished.

Eligibility Criteria

Agriculture Electricity Cash Transfer Scheme is only for a particular section of the state. Every citizen cannot avail of the benefit offered under this scheme. Check what are the basic requirements for availing of this scheme given below-

This scheme is exclusively for the farmers of the state.
Applicants must be a resident of Andhra Pradesh
Beneficiaries must possess all the supporting documents with them at the time of registration so that their eligibility can be verified.

Documents Required

To get the benefits of cash transfer for electricity bill payment eligible farmers must produce all the requisite documents. These documents mainly include-

Address proof of the applicant.
Aadhar Card.
Farmer identity card/ proof showing that the applicant is a farmer.
Income certificate.
A valid mobile number (preferably no. which is registered with a bank account).
Bank account details/ bank passbook.

How to Apply for the Scheme?

All the interested applicants who want to apply under Agriculture Electricity Cash Transfer Scheme will have to wait for some time as the scheme just has been launched by the government of Andhra Pradesh the application procedure under the scheme has not yet been declared by the government as soon as the information regarding application procedure will be provided by the government we will update you soon.