Pointing out that the ruling BJP in Madhya Pradesh is leaving no stone unturned to ensure the welfare of farmers, Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said here on Wednesday that the state’s irrigation capacity, which was 7 lakh hectares in the past, has now increased to 47 lakh hectares.

Inaugurating the Mukhyamantri Krishak Mitra Yojana (MKMY) at the Kushabhau Thakre Convention Centre here this morning, Mr Chouhan said the scheme aims at providing permanent agriculture pump connections to the farmers, and it is being launched with immediate effect.

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Chouhan said the scheme includes an extension of an 11KV line of a distance of up to 200 meters for a permanent pump connection of 3 HP or more capacity, installation of a distribution transformer, and low-pressure line cable extension work.

He said the state government would bear 50 per cent of the cost of this work while the remaining 50 per cent cost would have to be borne by the individual farmer or group of farmers. The scheme will be effective for two years from now and the government’s aim is to benefit at least 10000 farmers in the first year.

The CM said the hard work, sacrifice, and diligence of the farmers have made Madhya Pradesh the number one state in the country in the agriculture sector. MP’s sharbati wheat and chinnor rice are getting international recognition.

The CM claimed that the food grain production in the state, which was 159 lakh metric tonnes in 2002-03, has now increased to 619 lakh metric tonnes.

He said the government had made arrangements for loans at 0 per cent interest as well as adequate electricity and irrigation for farmers.

In a veiled attack on the previous Congress government, Mr Chouhan said there was a time when electricity was available only for three to four hours and crops used to dry up in the fields. The total production of electricity in the state was only 2,900 megawatts then, but today more than 29,000 megawatts of electricity is being produced in the state.