Today is special for the farmers of Maharashtra, as the state has taken a major step to achieve a much-needed milestone in its agriculture sector. The 9,000 MW ‘Mukhyamantri Saur Krishi Vahini Yojana – 2.0′ project works for pan-Maharashtra were awarded today by the Power Minister of the state, Devendra Fadnavis. Notably, all the renowned power generation companies of the country participated in the competitive bidding process. This solar grid project will provide cheap electricity for farmers all day and give them a new source of income. This 9,000 MW solar energy generation for powering agricultural feeders will be done at an investment of Rs 40,000 crores. The ambitious project, which will create 25,000 jobs, aims to take 40% of the Maharashtra villages in its ambit by 2025, supplying solar power through the agricultural feeders. Not just that, the farmers who rent their spare land to the government for this project will also get an annual rent of Rs 1.25 lakh per hectare. It brings double benefits for farmers: full-time electricity at a cheap rate and high rent for their wasteland.
Mukhyamantri Saur Krishi Vahini Yojana to invigorate the agriculture and village economy
Earlier, the Congress-NCP government made a fluke announcement of making Maharashtra load shedding-free by 2013, but in reality, people saw no let-up in load shedding during their regime, with some areas even experiencing 16 hours of power cuts a day. In 2014, Devendraji became the chief minister and took many revolutionary decisions to boost power generation in Maharashtra. Due to insufficient and no specific timing for electricity availability, farmers had to go to the fields for irrigation during both day and night. This led to a constant demand from farmers for full-time electricity during the day for farming. Devendraji saw the opportunity in the generation and use of renewable energy and announced the ‘Chief Minister Solar Agricultural Vahini Scheme’ in 2016, aiming to generate the electricity required for farming through solar grids. The first pilot project was carried out in Ralegan Siddhi, the village where Anna Hazare lives. The capacity of the Solar Grid was about 2,000 MW during 2014-2019. This scheme was abandoned due to a lack of political will during the Thackeray government. But as soon as Devendraji returned to power in 2022, he started the second phase of this scheme. Today, the awarding of the 9,000 MW of solar power generation project works to the eligible bidders in the second phase was completed.
Schemes for farmers, securing water and electricity for improved irrigation
After returning to power in 2022, Devendraji continued his focus on the growth of the agriculture sector in the state. His notable initiatives during this period include a thrust in renewable energy generation for the success of both his pet projects, Jalyukt Shivar Abhiyan and Mukhyamantri Saur Krishi Vahini Yojana; creating agro-processing industries according to the crop patterns in different areas; establishing a cashew nut corporation in Konkan; and setting up textile and orange processing industries for Vidarbha-Marathwada. Therefore, one can see a cohesive vision of Maharashtra Sevak Devendra Fadnavis for the improvement of the farm economy in the state, as he took steps to improve two vital areas – water and electricity – to improve the farm sector and break the shackles of debt for the farmers.
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