Flaw in Power-run Irrigation Rule
Pump owners enjoy rebate, farmers share no benefit
About one lakh small and marginal farmers, dependent on irrigation water from owners of electricity-run power pumps, are deprived of government subsidy although the pump owners are getting 20 per cent rebate in electricity charge.
Whereas the government gives subsidy in diesel price directly to small farmers, only the power pump owners enjoy the rebate in electricity charge as official connection holders.
Against this backdrop, farmers have demanded government's clear direction so that the marginal farmers can get benefit of the rebate by paying charge for irrigation water to electricity-run power pump owners at a reasonable rate.
Department of Agriculture Extension (DAE) sources in the district said this year the government has set a target to cultivate boro on 80,250 hectares of land to produce 3.5 lakh tonnes of rice. Electricity-run 102 deep pumps and 8,163 shallow pumps are being used to irrigate lands in the district. Besides, three diesel-run deep pumps and 17, 972 diesel run shallow pumps are engaged for irrigational purpose.
About 2.5 lakh small and marginal boro farmers in the district have no irrigational pumps of their own. So they purchase water from power or diesel-run pump owners at a very high cost and carry the water to their boro fields through drains, sources said.
DAE sources said that to minimise boro production cost, the government is giving diesel subsidy to about 1.5 lakh small and medium farmers in the district although many of them irrigate their boro fields purchasing water from pump owners. Farmers having 0.5-7.5 acres of land are getting Tk 800-1000 as subsidy in diesel through agriculture cards.
In case of electricity-run irrigational pumps, the government is providing 20 per cent rebate against electricity charge but only 8,265 deep and shallow power pump owners or irrigation managers of farmers' association enjoy the rebate. And so, about one lakh small and medium farmers are deprived of the benefit of the rebate money.
"One crore nine lakh eighty four thousand two hundred and forty three kilowatt electricity worth Tk 3 crore 30 lakh has been consumed for irrigation purpose from January to March in the ongoing boro season and about Tk 72 lakh has been deducted from the price for 20 per cent rebate on it," said sources in Nilphamari Rural Electrification Board (REB).
But this huge rebate is given to rich power pump owners or irrigation managers. For irrigation in a bigha (30 decimal) of land, farmers have to pay Tk 1,000 to Tk 1500 to the deep or shallow power pump owners although the actual electricity cost for irrigation per bigha of land in the boro season is not more than Tk 300, said local farmers.
Power pump owners, on the other hand, claimed that they have to spend a lot of money as they employ manpower for making and repairing drains, and operating, overhauling or repairing pumps for supplying water to others' lands.
After irrigating their own boro fields, most of the pump owners supply water to fields of poor farmers on request, they said, adding that they realise service charge as per their 'own rate' in absence of any government rate.
"My power run shallow pump with five horsepower capacity can irrigate minimum 40 bigha of land. My electricity charge in boro season of four months (January- April) is about Tk 12,000. As I enjoy 20 per cent rebate, the charge is reduced to Tk 9.5 thousand. I take Tk 1000 as charge for irrigating a bigha of land," said Oliar Rahman, a power pump owner of Kektibari village in the district.
"Under the existing REB rule there is no way to give rebate in electricity to anyone other than the official connection holders," said Rezaullah Khan, general manager of REB in Nilphamari.
The DAE deputy director in the district, AFM Mokbul Hossain Noori said it is beyond his jurisdiction to ensure rebate to poor farmers or fix up the cost of irrigational water for them.
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