Agartala, May 11: In a significant move to double farmers’ income and strengthen sustainable agriculture, the Electricity Department, in collaboration with the Tripura Renewable Energy Development Agency, has successfully installed 8,364 solar-powered irrigation pumps.
Tripura’s Agriculture and Farmers’ Welfare Minister, Ratan Lal Nath, announced that these installations are part of the Prime Minister’s Kisan Urja Suraksha evam Utthaan Mahabhiyan (PM-KUSUM) scheme. Additionally, work is ongoing for 2,531 solar pumps across the state.
Under the PM-KUSUM scheme, 8,364 farmers have already benefited, and it is expected that 2,531 more farmers will gain advantages once the ongoing installations are completed.
On Monday, the minister visited the solar-powered agricultural irrigation system established under the PM-KUSUM project in Satadubia village of West Tripura district. He also toured the solar-powered tea garden village of Mohanpur and interacted with local farmers.
The minister noted that the provision of free solar energy and irrigation water has brought joy to the rural community and farmers. Each solar pump unit costs approximately ₹300,000, of which farmers are required to pay only ₹15,000, while the government covers the remaining expenses.
He stated, “So far, a total of 8,364 farmers have benefited from this scheme, bringing 41,820 kani (0.33 to 0.4 acres) of land under irrigation. The entire cost is borne by the Tripura government. Tripura has secured the top position in the Northeast under the PM-KUSUM scheme. I have personally visited the projects, inspected them, and met with farmers. Our goal is even bigger, and work is continuously progressing.”
The minister further mentioned that the state government initially aimed to install 10,895 solar irrigation pumps under this scheme, intending to bring 54,475 kani of agricultural land under irrigation.
According to him, the installation of 8,364 pumps has already been completed, covering 41,820 kani of land and directly benefiting 8,364 farmers. Additionally, the ongoing installation of 2,531 more pumps is expected to irrigate an extra 12,655 kani of land and benefit 2,531 additional farmers.