Haryana's Separate Agriculture DISCOM Proposal Deferred Over Employee Opposition
· India · Indian Express, Business Standard
Haryana has postponed its plan to create a dedicated agriculture DISCOM after power‑sector employees voiced opposition. The move follows similar, though still non‑operational, plans in Telangana and Maharashtra, where states are trying to isolate farm electricity loads to protect existing DISCOMs from subsidised costs. Agriculture uses about one‑fifth of India’s electricity and attracts the highest subsidies, with the Comptroller and Auditor General reporting Rs 1.9 lakh crore spent on energy subsidies in 2024‑25. Farm power subsidies alone exceeded Rs 1.3 lakh crore in FY25, while public‑sector DISCOMs currently record losses of Rs 6.77 lakh crore and borrowings of Rs 7.11 lakh crore. The debt burden forces DISCOMs to postpone network upgrades, lowering reliability for all consumers.
Why it matters
Farmers depend on cheap electricity for irrigation; any delay in subsidies or DISCOM financial stability directly raises their operating costs and could reduce crop yields.
Read the original report — Indian Express
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