MARGAO
Power Minister Ramkrishna Dhavalikar’s pitch of solar panels in fallow agriculture fields has stirred a hornet’s nest with Goa Forward Chief Vijai Sardesai saying the power minister’s idea is not only absurd, but is a clear admission of the government’s failure to promote agriculture, and encourage agriculturists all these years.
Saying the Power Minister’s statement only exposes the Agriculture department’s failure to bring the fallow fields under cultivation, Sardesai said the government does not seem to be serious about promoting agriculture in the state.
“I have repeatedly called for the implementation of community farming and contract farming policies in the Goa Assembly. However, the Agriculture Minister diverted the discussion by raising the issue of tenancy. Now, the power minister is proposing to install solar panels on fallow land. This, in my view, is an admission of the government's failure to promote agriculture, he said, while speaking to the media on the sidelines of mechanized harvesting at Agalli in Fatorda constituency.
Reiterating his vision to promote the cultivation of fields all year-round, Sardesai said “I have been actively promoting community farming in Fatorda for the last 19 years and, to support this cause, I am working on the construction of six wells, bunds, and other agricultural facilities”, said Sardesai.
He further said “Goa's priorities seem to be shifting away from agricultural self-sufficiency towards becoming an energy-dependent state. I wonder why the Power Minister is making statements about fallow land when the agriculture policy is under consideration”.
Clarifying he’s not against solar farms, he however, emphasised that such projects should be established on lands that are not low-lying and susceptible to flooding. He added that solar farms can be set up on barren plateaus at Madkai in Ponda where cultivation is not possible. “This approach is preferable to concretizing the plateau since it will generate hundreds of jobs while preserving the underground aquifer and the top surface's groundwater recharge ability. A solar farm covering the entire Madkai plateau could generate over 150 MW, which would be sufficient to power the minister's own taluka, Ponda. This should be the Power Minister's priority, he said.
While urging the Power Minister to consider projects that do not compromise Goa's long-term agricultural and food security goals, he said development of one sector should not come at the cost of another.
