Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 73
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 73
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
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Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Deprecated (16384): The ArrayAccess methods will be removed in 4.0.0.Use getParam(), getData() and getQuery() instead. - /home/brlfuser/public_html/src/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line: 74
 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php. [CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311]
Code Context


        trigger_error($message, E_USER_DEPRECATED);

    }
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 You can disable deprecation warnings by setting `Error.errorLevel` to `E_ALL & ~E_USER_DEPRECATED` in your config/app.php.'
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deprecationWarning - CORE/src/Core/functions.php, line 311
Cake\Http\ServerRequest::offsetGet() - CORE/src/Http/ServerRequest.php, line 2421
App\Controller\ArtileDetailController::printArticle() - APP/Controller/ArtileDetailController.php, line 74
Cake\Controller\Controller::invokeAction() - CORE/src/Controller/Controller.php, line 610
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::_invoke() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 120
Cake\Http\ActionDispatcher::dispatch() - CORE/src/Http/ActionDispatcher.php, line 94
Cake\Http\BaseApplication::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/BaseApplication.php, line 235
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\RoutingMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/RoutingMiddleware.php, line 162
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Routing\Middleware\AssetMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Routing/Middleware/AssetMiddleware.php, line 88
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Error\Middleware\ErrorHandlerMiddleware::__invoke() - CORE/src/Error/Middleware/ErrorHandlerMiddleware.php, line 96
Cake\Http\Runner::__invoke() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 65
Cake\Http\Runner::run() - CORE/src/Http/Runner.php, line 51
Cake\Http\Server::run() - CORE/src/Http/Server.php, line 98

Warning (512): Unable to emit headers. Headers sent in file=/home/brlfuser/public_html/vendor/cakephp/cakephp/src/Error/Debugger.php line=853 [CORE/src/Http/ResponseEmitter.php, line 48]
Code Context
            if (Configure::read('debug')) {

                trigger_error($message, E_USER_WARNING);

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    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67ff16143f77f-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67ff16143f77f-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67ff16143f77f-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67ff16143f77f-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67ff16143f77f-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67ff16143f77f-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67ff16143f77f-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67ff16143f77f-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.
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&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&amp;rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.
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States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.
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&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.
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&lt;br /&gt;
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National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &amp;ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&amp;rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.
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He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. &amp;ldquo;If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,&amp;rdquo; he said.
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&lt;br /&gt;
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Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &amp;ldquo;perverse&amp;rdquo;.
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&amp;ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&amp;rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.
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The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel.
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The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption.
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&amp;ldquo;I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing &amp;hellip; . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh said.
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.





&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&amp;rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &amp;ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&amp;rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. &amp;ldquo;If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &amp;ldquo;perverse&amp;rdquo;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&amp;rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing &amp;hellip; . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh said.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&amp;rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &amp;ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&amp;rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. &amp;ldquo;If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,&amp;rdquo; he said.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &amp;ldquo;perverse&amp;rdquo;.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&amp;rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;ldquo;I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing &amp;hellip; . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh said.
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.





&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there...&#039;
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.





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                <strong>Free power versus water by Basant Kumar Mohanty</strong></h1>
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                <div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. &ldquo;If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,&rdquo; he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &ldquo;perverse&rdquo;.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing &hellip; . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,&rdquo; Ramesh said.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div>               </font>
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.
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&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&amp;rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.
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States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.
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&amp;ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.
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National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &amp;ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&amp;rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.
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Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &amp;ldquo;perverse&amp;rdquo;.
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&amp;ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&amp;rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.





&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&amp;rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &amp;ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&amp;rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. &amp;ldquo;If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &amp;ldquo;perverse&amp;rdquo;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&amp;rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing &amp;hellip; . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh said.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.
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&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&amp;rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.
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States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
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&amp;ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
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National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &amp;ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&amp;rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.
&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
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He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. &amp;ldquo;If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,&amp;rdquo; he said.
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
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Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &amp;ldquo;perverse&amp;rdquo;.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
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&amp;ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&amp;rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
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The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel.
&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
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The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption.
&lt;/div&gt;
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
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&amp;ldquo;I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing &amp;hellip; . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh said.
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&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.





&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there...&#039;
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.





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                <strong>Free power versus water by Basant Kumar Mohanty</strong></h1>
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                <div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. &ldquo;If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,&rdquo; he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &ldquo;perverse&rdquo;.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing &hellip; . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,&rdquo; Ramesh said.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div>               </font>
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    <link rel="canonical" href="https://im4change.in/<pre class="cake-error"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67ff16143f77f-trace').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67ff16143f77f-trace').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none');"><b>Notice</b> (8)</a>: Undefined variable: urlPrefix [<b>APP/Template/Layout/printlayout.ctp</b>, line <b>8</b>]<div id="cakeErr67ff16143f77f-trace" class="cake-stack-trace" style="display: none;"><a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67ff16143f77f-code').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67ff16143f77f-code').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Code</a> <a href="javascript:void(0);" onclick="document.getElementById('cakeErr67ff16143f77f-context').style.display = (document.getElementById('cakeErr67ff16143f77f-context').style.display == 'none' ? '' : 'none')">Context</a><pre id="cakeErr67ff16143f77f-code" class="cake-code-dump" style="display: none;"><code><span style="color: #000000"><span style="color: #0000BB"></span><span style="color: #007700">&lt;</span><span style="color: #0000BB">head</span><span style="color: #007700">&gt;
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.
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&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&amp;rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.
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&lt;br /&gt;
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States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.
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&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &amp;ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&amp;rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.
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&lt;br /&gt;
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He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. &amp;ldquo;If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,&amp;rdquo; he said.
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&lt;br /&gt;
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Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &amp;ldquo;perverse&amp;rdquo;.
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&lt;br /&gt;
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&amp;ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&amp;rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.
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&lt;br /&gt;
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The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel.
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&lt;br /&gt;
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The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption.
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&amp;ldquo;I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing &amp;hellip; . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh said.
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.





&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there...&#039;,
	&#039;disp&#039; =&gt; &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&amp;rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &amp;ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&amp;rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. &amp;ldquo;If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &amp;ldquo;perverse&amp;rdquo;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&amp;rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing &amp;hellip; . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh said.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;,
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&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&amp;rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &amp;ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&amp;rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. &amp;ldquo;If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,&amp;rdquo; he said.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &amp;ldquo;perverse&amp;rdquo;.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&amp;rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&amp;ldquo;I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing &amp;hellip; . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh said.
&lt;/div&gt;
&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;
&lt;br /&gt;
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.





&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there...&#039;
$disp = &#039;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&amp;rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &amp;ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&amp;rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. &amp;ldquo;If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,&amp;rdquo; he said.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &amp;ldquo;perverse&amp;rdquo;.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&amp;rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&amp;rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&amp;ldquo;I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing &amp;hellip; . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,&amp;rdquo; Ramesh said.&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div style=&quot;text-align: justify&quot;&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&#039;
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.





&ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there..."/>
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                <strong>Free power versus water by Basant Kumar Mohanty</strong></h1>
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                <div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. &ldquo;If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,&rdquo; he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &ldquo;perverse&rdquo;.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing &hellip; . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,&rdquo; Ramesh said.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div>               </font>
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<div style="text-align: justify">
Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
&ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
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States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.
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<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
&ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
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<div style="text-align: justify">
National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.
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He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. &ldquo;If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,&rdquo; he said.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
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Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &ldquo;perverse&rdquo;.
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<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
&ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.
</div>
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The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel.
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The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption.
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<br />
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&ldquo;I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing &hellip; . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,&rdquo; Ramesh said.
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.





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<div style="text-align: justify">
Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
&ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
&ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. &ldquo;If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,&rdquo; he said.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &ldquo;perverse&rdquo;.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
&ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
&ldquo;I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing &hellip; . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,&rdquo; Ramesh said.
</div>
<div style="text-align: justify">
<br />
</div>',
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Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.





&ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there...'
$disp = '<div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,&rdquo; he told a conference on drinking water quality.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,&rdquo; Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. &ldquo;Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,&rdquo; Saxena told The Telegraph.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. &ldquo;If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,&rdquo; he said.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were &ldquo;perverse&rdquo;.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,&rdquo; he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn&rsquo;t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div><div style="text-align: justify">&ldquo;I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing &hellip; . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,&rdquo; Ramesh said.</div><div style="text-align: justify"><br /></div>'
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Free power versus water by Basant Kumar Mohanty

Rural development minister Jairam Ramesh today questioned the policy of providing free electricity to farmers in certain states, saying excessive pumping by cultivators had led to a depletion in groundwater levels. “In district after district, groundwater tables are falling. And there is no doubt that free electricity has caused excessive use of water. Our policies on pricing of water also do not lead to conservation. So we have to rethink on the policy about free water, free power. These are all leading to excessive consumption much beyond what is actually required,” he told a conference on drinking water quality. States like Punjab and Tamil Nadu provide free power to farmers, while some have subsidised power tariff for the sector. “Water is a scarce resource. Mainly free power is detrimental to efficient use of water,” Ramesh, who also holds charge of the ministry of drinking water and sanitation, said. National Advisory Council member N.C. Saxena, however, said groundwater depletion was purely linked to cropping patterns in states. “Punjab gets 700mm of rainfall in a year which is not sufficient for paddy crop. But farmers cultivate paddy in Punjab by pumping groundwater. They should be discouraged from cultivating paddy. They can shift to maize and cereals,” Saxena told The Telegraph. He said paddy should be cultivated in the southern and eastern states as they get good rainfall, while Maharashtra should discontinue farming of sugarcane, which needs a lot of water. “If the cropping pattern is rationalised, groundwater depletion would not be a major problem,” he said. Ramesh later told reporters that fuel subsidies were “perverse”. “I believe fuel subsidies are perverse subsidies. We spend roughly Rs 1,10,000 crore on subsidy on diesel, kerosene and LPG, which is more than what we spend on rural development programmes. And the more you increase petrol prices without touching diesel prices, you are going to have a problem,” he said, but conceded that overnight changes in fuel subsidy wouldn’t be easy as farmers use diesel engines to pump water. The Rs 1,10,000-crore subsidy includes Rs 67,000 crore on diesel. The minister said car owners and captive power generators were the main beneficiaries of the subsidy on diesel. Cars and captive power generation plants account for 23 per cent of the total diesel consumption. “I mean 23 per cent of diesel is going into areas where diesel should not be used and that is a direct consequence of the pricing … . The use of diesel in power is a reflection of collapse of our power system and the 15 per cent share of diesel consumption in cars is a direct result of the pricing policy we have adopted,” Ramesh said.