Chandigarh, July 23-
In a major relief to farmers of state desirous of enhancing electricity load of their tube-wells, the Punjab government led by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had extended the date for Voluntary Disclosure Scheme (VDS) for enhancing load till September 15.
Divulging more details, the Chief Minister said that the decision has been taken to facilitate the food growers of the state. He said that his government has launched this VDS on June 10 for 45 days (till July 24) by slashing fees for load enhancement on tube wells from existing Rs 4750 to Rs 2500 per BHP. Bhagwant Mann said that it is a matter of great pride and satisfaction for him that as of now 1.28 lakh farmers have saved their Rs 123 crore by availing the benefit of this scheme.
The Chief Minister said that keeping in view tremendous response from the farmers, the state government has now decided to extend the deadline of this scheme till September 15. He said that those farmers who are interested in enhancing the load of their tube wells can apply for it till mid of September. Bhagwant Mann exhorted the farmers to take maximum benefit of the scheme and apply for the load enhancement at the reduced charges.
Meanwhile, reiterating firm commitment of the state government to make agriculture a profitable venture, the Chief Minister said that this scheme was a right step in this direction. He said that Punjab is predominately an agrarian economy with large section of its population dependent on farming. Bhagwant Mann said that this humble endeavour of the state government aims at maximising the profit of farmers by reducing their input costs.
