Petty decision
the newly-elected Punjab chief minister Prakash Singh Badal's move to provide free irrigation water and electricity to farmers will only harm the economy and the environment, without helping those it is meant to. Anything that comes cheap is overused or misused. Farmers must learn to use irrigation water effectively or else they will destroy their lands. Cheap electricity can mean overuse of groundwater. Besides, the lion's share of the benefits of such a measure will be grabbed by those in the middle and the rich farmers, who do not need benefits of this kind in the first place. The only justification, if any, for free power and irrigation water to farmers can be an increase in agricultural output. Surely, such an increase in output must be substantial. Besides emptying the coffers of the Punjab State Electricity Board, the decision may also cause resentment among farmers who do not have power connections, many of whom are poor peasants.
Power is scarce even in Punjab. And, those who can afford to pay more should be made to do so. But the Badal government obviously does not believe in progressive tariffs. It has put all farmers