Punjab Government has decided to provide Rs1 lakh subsidy on installation of 500 solar irrigation pump sets in the State during 2013-14 fiscal. Also, a special fund of Rs5 crore has been earmarked for it.
Punjab Non-Conventional Energy Minister Bikram Singh Majithia on Wednesday said that the decision was aimed at promoting renewable and clean energy on one side, and incentive to all those farmers opting for diversification, on the other.
Farmers opting for diversification would be given priority in issuance of solar irrigation pump connections, he said. Keeping in view the alarming situation of ever falling water table in the State, it became imperative to shift the major chunk of cultivable land to alternative crops like sugarcane, cotton, maize, soybean, oilseeds, pulses, fruits and vegetables, he said.
The minister said that this new initiative would play a significant role in ensuring remunerative returns to farmers of their produce, besides saving ground water. Presently, a solar pump costs nearly Rs2.50 lakh and the Centre only provides a meager subsidy of 30 per cent, he said adding that with the new provision of 40 per cent subsidy (Rs1 lakh for each pump) by the State Government, now the pumps would cost Rs75,000.