Telangana: Adivasi Farmers Await Solar Pumps for ROFR Lands

Adilabad: Adivasi farmers, who had pinned hopes on solar pump sets to irrigate their ROFR (Recognition of Forest Rights) lands, are still awaiting the promised support. Under the previous BRS government’s ‘Giri Vikasam’ scheme, ITDA officials had dug borewells but failed to install motors, leaving farmers without irrigation facilities.

With forest officials refusing clearance for three-phase electricity lines in forest areas, the state government is now focusing on solar pump sets as a viable solution to power irrigation motors. Earlier, during the Congress regime, borewells were dug under the ‘Indira Jalaprabha’ programme to develop tribal lands. The current government has revived those efforts by sanctioning solar pump sets for the same borewells.

According to sources, rural development minister Danasari Anasuya (Seethakka) will distribute solar pump sets to tribal farmers in Pipri village of Indravelli mandal on May 9. She is also scheduled to launch borewell digging works to improve land productivity and irrigation access.

The ITDA has sanctioned 55 solar pump sets under Giri Vikasam for ROFR land development where Adivasi farmers hold pattas. Indravelli Market Committee director Kodapa Srikanth said farmers stand to gain significantly if solar pump sets are provided, especially since many still face issues due to the absence of a three-phase power supply.

Small and marginal Adivasi farmers have repeatedly appealed to the state government for solar-powered motors to develop their lands, but their requests have largely gone unanswered. Most ROFR farmers grow rain-fed crops like cotton and the lack of irrigation prevents them from shifting to alternatives such as paddy or vegetable cultivation.