Plea in HC to conduct special audit into amount collected under tatkal agricultural electricity connection scheme
The Madras High Court has requested a response from the Tamil Nadu government regarding a PIL seeking a special audit of the 'tatkal' agricultural electricity connection scheme. The petitioner alleges that the scheme prioritizes affluent applicants over small farmers, contradicting its original purpose.
Why it matters
It addresses concerns regarding equity and transparency in the distribution of essential public utility services to the agricultural sector.
The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court on Tuesday sought response from the State to a public interest litigation petition that sought a direction to the Principal Accountant General (Audit-I), Tamil Nadu, to conduct a special audit into collection and utilisation of ₹2,431.51 crore collected under the tatkal agricultural electricity connection scheme from 2021–22 onwards.
A Division Bench of Justices C.V. Karthikeyan and R. Sakthivel was hearing the petition filed by C. Selvakumar of Madurai. The petitioner also sought a direction to DVAC to conduct an independent inquiry and take appropriate action if there was any irregularity or administrative lapse.
He said while eligible farmers have been waiting for several years for free agricultural electricity connections, a tatkal mechanism has been operated under which applicants who pay the prescribed amount are given priority for obtaining agricultural electricity connections.
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