Jaipur, March 31 Rajasthan Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma announced that farmers in the Dausa and Karauli districts will soon receive electricity for irrigation during the daytime in two blocks, extending the facility to 24 districts in the state.
The announcement was made by the chief minister through a post on his official social media handle 'X' on Monday night.
According to an official statement, the state government has undertaken a plan to ensure daytime power supply to farmers across all 50 districts. The revised budget for 2024-25 has set a target to complete the rollout in a phased manner by 2027.
Currently, agricultural consumers in 22 districts are already receiving power supply in two daytime blocks.
With the inclusion of Dausa and Karauli under the Jaipur Discom, the number of districts covered under the scheme will increase to 24.
Currently, farmers in seven districts under Jaipur Discom -- Dholpur, Bundi, Kota, Jhalawar, Jaipur, Deeg and Bharatpur -- are getting electricity in two daytime blocks for irrigation.
Similarly, under Ajmer Discom, 12 districts including Ajmer, Beawar, Bhilwara, Didwana-Kuchaman, Udaipur, Salumber, Rajsamand, Banswara, Jhunjhunu, Sikar, Chittorgarh and Dungarpur are covered, while three districts -- Jalore, Sirohi and Pali -- under Jodhpur Discom are also receiving the facility.
The statement said that significant strengthening of the power infrastructure has been carried out in Dausa and Karauli in recent years.
In Dausa, 18 new 33 kV grid substations have been set up, while six such substations have been established in Karauli. Transformer capacity has also been enhanced by 128.95 MVA across 47 substations in Dausa and by 49.45 MVA across 15 substations in Karauli.
Additionally, 17 solar power plants with a combined capacity of 32 MW have been installed in the two districts under components A and C of the PM Kusum scheme.
A total of 87,801 agricultural consumers, 52,460 in Dausa and 35,341 in Karauli, are expected to benefit from the daytime electricity supply.
The move will reduce the need for irrigation during late-night hours, especially in extreme weather conditions, and help farmers avoid risks from wild animals while enabling them to spend more time with their families, the statement added.