Ashok Khode, a farmer out of Khedgaon village of Dindori taluka, does not need to worry about electricity disruptions anymore. He’s currently the proud owner of a solar charged 5-horsepower water pump, the first from the state supplied under the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) scheme.
Our plants were seriously hit by the errant electricity source. We needed to wake up in the middle of the night to change on the source to the motors to pump water into farms beneath pomegranate and grape cultivation. There was also the doubt given the unreliable electric source in the Maharashtra State Electricity Distribution Company Limited (MSEDCL). Now, such concerns are over,” Khode explained.
Khode is the very first one among 13 farmers to obtain the solar-powered water pumps at the Nashik district. Altogether, 23 such pumps have been sanctioned throughout the state for the very first time.
The farmers don’t need to be concerned about any financial burden because the MNRE’s subsidy will be given to the banks straight through the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (Nabard). {The solar driver engine has been set up in Nashik district by Cleantech Synergy Pvt Ltd.|}
“Steps were taken to cut down the farmers’ weight by earning capital from several businesses through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). In accordance with the scheme, the farmer must pay Rs 2.76, along with an interest of Rs 12,000. The weight currently comes to Rs 1.46 as CSR funds of Rs 1.3 lakh is being sourced,” Jalaj Patil the company director, said.
The plot, floated in 2014, permits the farmer to pay Rs 4.8 lakh to fetch the solar-powered pump and wait until the banks get the subsidy from the government. Back in November 2016, the scheme was revived along with a subsidy of Rs 2.16 lakh was paid (parked) together with the bank. The banks then needed to look out for marginal farmers who’d pay Rs 2.64 lakh for the pumps within three months after which pass onto the credit to the farmer.
