New norms for tubewell connection irk farmers

Parveen Arora

Tribune News Service

Karnal, June 6

The power corporation’s new condition of issuing tubewell connections has not gone down well with farmers. As per the new norms, no connection will be released for land which falls under the command area of a canal.

It is an area over which canal water flows.

Besides, it has become mandatory for farmers to get a no-objection certificate (NOC) from the Irrigation Department. If NOC is not obtained, the fee for the new connection would be refunded to farmers.

“In 2019, the power corporation had made it mandatory for farmers to purchase submersible motors from a particular vendor. After farmers protested, the decision was taken back. Now, the discom has come up with new norms for issuing tubewell connections. This is unjustified,” said Arvind Jaglan, a farmer.

Bahadur Singh Mehla, BKU (Charuni) leader, said: “The condition of obtaining an NOC from the Irrigation Department and cancelling applications show the lethargic approach of the authorities.”

“Farmers deposited the security amount for power lines four to five years ago. They were hoping to get the connection soon, but the new guideline has shattered their hope,” he added.

Sources say of the 85,000 applicants who had applied for the tubewell connections, only 10,000 got it. In Karnal, 2,059 farmers had applied for the connection. Of them, around 1,900 had deposited the fee. but, their wait continues.

A senior official of the power corporation said, “The guideline regarding the command area of canal is being reviewed following the opposition from farmers.”