Free or heavily subsidised power supply for farming is like a “hot stove”, politically speaking. History has shown that whatever the government tried to reform or scrap, it had to backtrack. Tamil Nadu, among the first States to supply free power to energise agricultural pumps, witnessed several agitations when those in power tried to regulate the scheme. Some of the agitations turned violent too. In the early 1970s, on two separate occasions, the State witnessed police firing and lathi-charge on farmers who had agitated against the power tariff increase or changes in the scheme. In all, 19 lives were lost, including that of a head constable. On both occasions, M. Karunanidhi of the DMK was the Chief Minister.
A police firing took place on June 19, 1970, near Perumanallur (about 56 km from Coimbatore), now part of Tiruppur district. The Coimbatore District Agriculturists’ Association had been agitating over a number of issues and calling for uniform power charges. C. Narayanaswamy Naidu, one of the founders of the body, was spearheading the agitation.
Naidu’s claim
Naidu’s contention was that agriculturists in the State were paying more — 20% surcharge, besides the consumption charge of ₹0.1 per unit — than their counterparts in Karnataka and Kerala. This claim was disputed by Karunanidhi, who said the rate in the State was cheaper than in Karnataka and his government had rejected a recommendation for a higher tariff and was incurring, as a result, a loss of ₹7 crore a year, according to a report in The Hindu on June 3, 1970.
The association called for picketing the office of the Collector and government establishments in taluks of the district. Prohibitory orders were imposed. Yet, violence broke out at many places, leading to the lathi-charge and the firing. The government’s claim was that a considerable number of public properties was destroyed. On the night of June 19, Karunanidhi announced that he decided to concede the farmers’ demand and have the uniform rate of ₹0.09 a unit for all farmers as he did not want to make this “a prestige issue”, said a report in The Hindu the following day. A judicial probe was also ordered.
But the bigger event took place on July 5, 1972, when the farmers’ action committee called a 24-hour bandh. Again, the power tariff was the main issue. On June 20, the Chief Minister announced the introduction of a fresh tariff regime: agriculturists would pay ₹0.12 per unit up to 200 units for pumps of up to 5 horsepower (HP) and ₹0.10.8 per unit for above 200 units. If the farmers used pumps of more than 5 HP, the rates were ₹0.12 per unit up to 400 units and ₹0.10.8 per unit for above 400 units. Even in the new system, the tariff was being subsidised to the tune of ₹0.1 per unit. The loss to the Electricity Board was ₹14 crore a year. Among the concessions was the extension of the compounding of agricultural income tax — until then available only to farmers owning up to 30 standard acres — to all farmers, regardless of the size of their land. The farmers were not convinced. A committee of farmers, representing all parties, was constituted, with Naidu as the convener. This time, the agitation spread to other parts of the State. On D-Day, the agitation turned violent and lathi-charge and police firing took place in Salem, Ramanathapuram, and Coimbatore districts. A total of 16 persons died, including seven in Peddanaickenpalayam, Salem; two in Ayyampalayam near Palladam; and five in Ramanathapuram.
Indira Gandhi’s remarks
Karunanidhi sought to blame the Centre for his decision to introduce the slabs, saying it had advised the State to raise ₹16 crore in additional resources. The matter reached Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who said at a press conference in New Delhi on July 12, 1972, that the problem lay not in the tariff increase but in the “manner” in which the situation was being handled by the DMK government. That day, K. Rajaram, Housing Minister in the DMK Cabinet, apprised the Prime Minister of the situation in the State.
Though her remarks upset Karunanidhi, the DMK government came to an understanding a week later with the agitators after four hours of discussions. The rates were revised to ₹0.12 per unit up to the first 100 units and ₹0.11 for consumption above 100 units. Some other measures were also unveiled to bring the controversy to an end. Eventually, the free power supply for farmers was implemented in two phases: in 1984 and 1990. In February 2016, before the Assembly election, Chief Minister Jayalalithaa announced ₹5 lakh each in solatium to the families of 47 farmers killed in the police firing between 1970 and 1980. A memorial for Naidu was built at Vaiyampalayam near Coimbatore at a cost of ₹1.5 crore.
Published - September 05, 2024 11:46 pm IST
