Date:22/02/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/02/22/stories/2004022211450400.htm

Karnataka

All irrigation pumpsets to be metered after polls

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, FEB. 21. The Minister of State for Power, Basavaraj Patil Humnabad, said here on Saturday that the State Government would install meters to the irrigation pumpsets owned by farmers in the State after the Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

There were over 14 lakh pumpsets in the State, but Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation Ltd. (KPTCL) had installed meters to only three lakh of them. The revenue from power tariff was low due to non-payment of bills by farmers and non-metering of pumpsets, he said.

Addressing presspersons after inaugurating various power stations and laying foundation stone for five 220 kv. stations here, the Minister said so far the Government had been supplying power to farmers at a highly subsidised rate.

The KPTCL Managing Director, K.N. Shrivastava, said the State was facing a daily shortage of 700 MW of power owing to snags in the Kolar-Talcher line and Tannirbavi Power Station in Mangalore. The problem would be rectified in a couple of days and normal power supply would be restored. The State was purchasing 800 MW of power daily from outside at a cost of Rs. 2.50 a unit, he added.

Referring to bill collection by KPTCL, he said bill collection in Bangalore city was good compared to other cities. "Sincere efforts are being made to install meter to irrigation pumpsets. But due to some problems universal metering has not been achieved." Referring to the current power situation in the State, he said consumption touched 104 million units a day on February 4, 2004. KPTCL and other power companies had been making efforts to ensure regular power supply by installing more sub-stations, he added.

Addressing the public, Mr. Patil said under the Accelerated Power Development Reform Programme (APDRP), the Government had received Rs. 300 crore from the Centre. The funds would be used to lay underground electricity lines and upgrade power stations in the city. The former Union Minster for Railways, C.K. Jaffer Sharief, spoke. The Managing Director of Bangalore Electricity Supply Company (BESCOM), Bharatlal Meena, was present.