Sat May 17 11:44:09 UTC 2025: Here’s a summary and a news article based on the provided text:
**Summary:**
The Karnataka High Court has ruled against the state government’s policy of denying agricultural power subsidies to registered farmer societies based solely on their collective power consumption. The court deemed this practice unconstitutional and arbitrary, violating Article 14 (equality before the law) of the Indian Constitution. The court highlighted the inconsistency of granting subsidies to individual farmers with unmetered pumpsets (based on estimated usage) while denying them to farmer societies even when per-capita consumption is within the subsidy limit. The court has directed the government and electricity supply companies (ESCOMs) to review and amend the policy within six months, ensuring farmer societies are treated equally to individual farmers and promoting cooperative farming practices.
**News Article:**
**Karnataka High Court Orders Government to Revamp Agricultural Power Subsidy Policy, Favors Farmer Societies**
**Bengaluru, May 17, 2025** – In a significant ruling that could reshape agricultural practices in Karnataka, the High Court has directed the state government to revise its policy regarding power subsidies for farmers. The court found the current system, which denies subsidies to registered farmer societies based on collective electricity consumption, to be unconstitutional and discriminatory.
Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum, in his judgment, criticized the existing framework for unfairly penalizing farmers who choose to organize and engage in cooperative farming. The court highlighted the government’s own encouragement of cooperative practices to improve efficiency and sustainability. “Denial of subsidies to societies defies logic,” the judge stated.
The court also pointed out the inconsistency of subsidizing individual farmers with unmetered irrigation pumpsets based on estimated power consumption while denying the same benefit to farmer societies even if their per capita consumption falls within acceptable limits.
The court has mandated that the government and all electricity supply companies (ESCOMs) amend the existing policy within six months. The new policy must treat farmer societies on par with individual farmers, and guidelines should promote cooperative farming and sustainable agricultural development. The court suggested considering conditions based on per capita consumption, landholding, or aggregate power consumption per member when extending subsidies to societies.
This ruling is expected to have a significant impact on Karnataka’s agricultural landscape, encouraging collaborative farming practices and potentially leading to more efficient use of resources.
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