No meters on agricultural tubewells: Amarinder

Chandigarh, Sep 25 (IANS) Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Monday categorically stated that there was no move by his government to install meters on agricultural tubewells.

Flaying the Shiromani Akali Dal leadership for spreading false propaganda on the issue, he said that the subsidy on power in the farming sector would continue, as already promised by his government.

"There is no question of withdrawing the subsidy or putting meters for tubewells in the farms," Amarinder Singh said in a statement here.

Farmers in Punjab, an agrarian state which contributes nearly 50 per cent of foodgrains (wheat and paddy) to the national kitty despite having just 1.54 per cent of the geographical area in the country, get free power supply for agriculture. The state government foots the power bill, running into thousands of crores annually, to subsidise the free power.

Amarinder Singh lashed out at the Akali Dal and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for misleading the people with baseless statements with an eye on the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha by-election.

"These parties are notorious for indulging in false advocacy to further their vested political interests. The SAD and BJP had indulged in large-scale rumour mongering even during the assembly elections but had failed to fool the people of Punjab," he said.

The Chief Minister said that his government was committed to the welfare of the farming community and had already initiated several measures, including waiver of loans, to protect the interests of the farmers.