Farmers in the state owe Maharashtra state electricity distribution company ltd (MSEDCL, also known as Mahavitaran) dues of Rs 10,900 crore. This is more than two-fold the amount they owed (Rs4,733cr) the company five years ago.
Over 36 lakh farmers in over 41,000 villages across Maharashtra get highly subsidized power for agriculture activities.
Power dues of farmers has long been a political issue. Hence, the power distribution wing, Mahavitaran, sought to tackle it by linking repair of burnt transformers to 80% payment of power dues. The new agriculture minister, Eknath Khadse, however, wants to amend this two-year-old policy.
In the cabinet meeting on Thursday, Khadse reportedly told energy secretary Ajoy Mehta to change the policy and make it a 'first-come-first-serve' policy. When Mehta said norms had to be followed, Khadse apparently got angry and said Mehta didn't know anything and that he (Khadse) understood the issue better as he was a farmer's son.
The Khadse vs Ajoy Mehta argument was apparently so intense that it led to a scuffle during the cabinet meeting on Thursday and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis had to intervene by asking Khadse to behave "appropriately" with the senior IAS officer.
Mahavitaran introduced the policy, 'Pay at least 80% dues if you want us to repair your burnt transformers', when it was left with no other option to recover dues from farmers.
The norms had already been diluted when the BJP government came to power in the state. From the mandatory payment of 80% of dues, the policy now is 'Priority be given to those who pay at least 70% dues', said an official.
The department feels if the agriculture minister has his way, no farmer would pay his dues, burdening the state exchequer further.
"Transformers burn when they are made to work beyond their capacity. This happens in cases of excessive power theft. The 70% payment cap scheme aims not only to stop theft but also encourage farmers, who have the tendency not to pay as they enjoy political support, to pay up," said a top Mahavitaran official.
According to officials, farmers in Marathwada and western Maharashtra regions, which face chronic drought situations, have the highest amount of unpaid power bills.
Data with Mahavitaran show that seven of the 14 distribution zones have most dues. Latur zone tops the list with over Rs 1,700cr worth bills pending. It's followed by Nashik, Aurangabad, Jalgaon and Nanded, with each having arrears ranging between Rs 1,350cr and Rs 1,625cr, as on September 2014.
Interestingly, Khadse's constituency, Muktainagar, falls in Jalgaon zone where farmers have dues worth Rs 1,540cr. Kolhapur zone has only Rs 147cr of unpaid bills.
The agriculture sector has a cross-subsidy of Rs 6,800cr at the cost of commercial and industrial sectors.
Arrears of farmers (as on Sept 2014)
Zone
Power bill arrears
Latur
Rs 1,700cr
Amravati
Rs. 1,625cr
Nashik
Rs 1,590cr
Aurangabad
Rs 1,450cr
Jalgaon
Rs 1,450cr
Nanded
Rs 1,350cr
Kolhapur
Rs 147cr
(Source: Mahavitaran)
Year
Arrears (In Rs Cr)
2008
4,733
2009
5,906
2010
7,000
2011
6,030*
2012
6,080
2013
7,785
2014 (Till September)
10,900
(Source: Mahavitaran, *impact of Krishi Sanjeevi amnesty scheme)
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