The Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) has demanded that the Congress government immediately withdraw its proposal to establish a separate Farmers’ Distribution Company (Farmers’ DISCOM) alleging that the proposal is a deliberate attempt to dismantle the 24-hour free power supply to farmers.

Representing the party before the Telangana Electricity Regulatory Commission (ERC), former ministers Guntakandla Jagadish Reddy and Singireddy Niranjan Reddy alleged that it is part of a larger strategy to gradually withdraw power subsidies to the agricultural sector and pave the way for privatisation of electricity distribution.

Speaking to the media later, Mr Jagadish Reddy noted that the landmark initiative of providing free 24-hour electricity to agriculture was launched in 2017 by the KCR government and was implemented successfully without interruption for several years.

He alleged that the real objective behind the proposed third DISCOM is to separate revenue-generating consumers from subsidised agricultural connections, thereby isolating the agricultural sector. Rejecting the government’s justification for the proposal, he said the reasons being cited were not based on facts. The proposed restructuring would severely weaken service delivery in rural areas, he said.