GUJARAT ENERGY Minister Saurabh Patel told the Legislative Assembly on Wednesday that the state government will extend the Kisan Suryoday Yojana to Amreli and Junagadh districts where farmers are exposed to wild animals, like lions and leopards, residing in the area.

Under the scheme, launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2020, farmers are to be provided with electricity during daytime for irrigation purposes.

“We are starting from Junagadh and Amreli districts. There was an issue of (threats posed by) lions and other wild animals and, so, we are giving the farmers in forest areas of the two districts topmost priority. We are trying to build the necessary infrastructure as soon as possible,” Patel said.

Rs 3,500 crore is expected to be spent under the scheme.

“I want to bring it to the notice of all the members that the government has planned to complete this project across the state by 2022,” he added.

The minister said that if 5000 MW of coal-based electricity needs to converted to renewable energy then a capacity of 12000-14000 MW of renewable energy capacity is needed.

“I am happy to inform that we have already floated tenders for 4000 MW of renewable energy. Yesterday, tenders for 500 MW were opened and we got a price of Rs 2.20 per unit. This is a continuous process and in the coming 12-18 months we are targeting to produce more renewable energy so that we can provide electricity to farmers during daytime under the Kisan Suryodaya Yojana,” the minister told the House during Question Hour.

Currently, farmers are given about eight hours of electricity at night for irrigation purposes.