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Bhopal, Nov 5 (IANS) The Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday withdrew its order restricting power supply to farmers beyond 10 hours following sharp criticism from the Congress and farmers.
The government also suspended AA K Jain, chief general manager (CGM) of Madhya Pradesh Kshetra Vidyut Vitara Company, in a circular issued on November 3.
CGM had issued instructions that power supply to agricultural feeders should not exceed 10 hours per day.
Chief Minister Mohan Yadav reiterated that his government has no such intention (to cut power supply to farmers) and the officer issuing such an order will also be punished.
“There will be no restriction on power supply for agricultural purposes. The BJP government is committed to providing adequate power supply to farmers. I have also taken action against the officials who issued such a misleading order,” Yadav said.
The order said that if power is supplied for agricultural feeders for more than 10 hours per day, it will be considered a violation and one day’s salary of the operator concerned will be deducted as penalty.
A similar warning was also issued to senior officials of the state electricity department.
The order states that even if the power demand is high due to wet soil (agricultural land), the supply of power should not exceed 10 hours, and supply beyond that will be considered a violation of the rules.
Criticizing the BJP-led state government, the Congress claimed that farmers are not getting power supply for more than seven to eight hours a day and such an order will cause more problems to the farmers.
However, the latest order issued by the electricity department of the Madhya Pradesh government on Wednesday said that the previous order has been cancelled.
–IANS
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