Chennai, Oct 24 PMK president Anbumani Ramadoss on Saturday welcomed the Tamil Nadu government’s order sanctioning 50,000 free agricultural power connections, but requested the state to clear the massive backlog by providing connections to over four lakh pending applicants over the next four years.
Commending the state’s decision to allocate a subsidy of Rs 127.56 crore for the initiative, the PMK leader, in a statement, said that the move brings much-needed relief to farmers who have been waiting for years.
Of the total 50,000 connections to be distributed, 20,000 will be provided under the normal category, 3,372 under the self-financing scheme, and 25,282 under the fast-track scheme, while the remaining 1,346 connections will be granted under various other welfare schemes, he said.
Referring to the DMK government’s announcement in 2025 regarding free power connections under the Tatkal scheme, he said 47,554 farmers applied by December 31 and applicants had deposited between Rs 2.50 lakh and Rs 4 lakh each for these connections and prior to this, in 2023, 12,566 farmers had applied under the same Tatkal scheme”.
“Despite collecting a total sum exceeding Rs 1,250 crore from them, power connections were not released,” he alleged.
Ramadoss said he had urged the state government, last August, to immediately provide free electricity connections to all 4.60 lakh applicants—comprising 60,000 under the Tatkal scheme and 4 lakh waiting under the normal scheme. “Subsequently, PMK Legislative Party leader Sowmiya Anbumani reiterated this demand in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly.”
Pointing out that the government order has now been issued in line with the assurance given by the state Electricity Minister in response to PMK’s demand, he said, “it brings satisfaction that the party’s demands have been acknowledged to a certain extent”.
“At the same time, over four lakh farmers are still waiting for free agricultural power connections, with many waiting for more than 13 years… making farmers wait 13 years for a basic free power connection is unacceptable and currently, only 40,000 free agricultural connections are being granted annually, which is insufficient.”
He also urged the Tamil Nadu government to increase the allotment to one lakh free agricultural power connections annually and take proactive measures to cover all pending applicants over the next four years.
(PTI News)
