- Forest rights lease holders are getting pollution-free, free and perennial electricity.
- Moving beyond traditional paddy cultivation to produce vegetables and cash crops is transforming farmers’ fortunes.
Chhattisgarh’s Saur Sujala Yojana is proving to be a boon for farmers in forested areas like Narayanpur and Bastar. Through this scheme, farmers are getting solar pumps at discounted rates without worrying about electricity bills or power outages, allowing them to grow two to three crops a year even on barren tikra land.
In the remote forested and inaccessible areas of Chhattisgarh, where access to electricity was once a distant dream, the “Saur Sujala Yojana” has brought a new dawn of hope. This scheme, run by the CREDA department in the forested and unelectrified areas of Narayanpur district, has brought about a historic and revolutionary change in the lives of farmers holding forest rights leases. Freedom from the hassle of
electricity
Overcoming the district’s difficult geographical conditions, the state government has provided farmers with 2 HP, 3 HP, and 5 HP solar-powered irrigation pumps at subsidized rates. With access to pollution-free and completely free solar energy, farmers no longer have to complain about power cuts or fear hefty electricity bills. Not
just
Before the installation of solar pumps, farmers here relied solely on monsoon rains and traditional rice cultivation. However, the availability of perennial water to their fields has transformed the landscape. Today, farmers are cultivating vegetables and vegetables commercially alongside rice. They are also growing a variety of cash crops, multiplying their incomes by cultivating multiple crops annually.
Nine
- years, 4,722 expectations: unprecedented expansion in the district’s irrigated area.
As a result of the tireless efforts of the CREDA department, solar irrigation pumps have been installed on the farms of more than 4,722 farmers in Narayanpur district over the past nine years. The implementation of this scheme has not only significantly expanded the district’s irrigated area, but has also given a new and strong impetus to the local rural economy. A new
livelihood
Undoubtedly, the “Saur Sujala Yojana” is not merely a means of irrigation, but has become a surefire means of empowering forest farmers economically and making them self-reliant. Lush crops in the fields and the bright smiles on the faces of farmers are testament to the fact that solar energy has written a new chapter of prosperity in the interior regions of Chhattisgarh.
