Registered with the Registrar of Newspapers for India under No. 10410
La Gazette de L' État de Poudouchéry
The Gazette of Puducherry
PART - II
➢ EXTRAORDINAIRE EXTRAORDINARY
➢ Publiée par Published by
➢ Autorité Authority
▪ 2025 } | 19 { No. 18 Poudouchéry Mercredi 1 9 Mars 2025
No. Puducherry Wednesday 19th March 2025
(28 Phalguna 1946)
GOVERNMENT OF PUDUCHERRY
CHIEF SECRETARIAT (AGRICULTURE)
(G.O. Ms. No. 16/Ag./436, Puducherry, dated 17th March 2025)
NOTIFICATION
Approval of the Honourable Lieutenant-Governor, Government of Puducherry, is conveyed for the implementation of the Scheme, "Installation of Micro Irrigation System like Drip/Sprinkler irrigation in the farmers fields" in the Union territory of Puducherry under PDMC component under RKVY, Top-up amount and applicable GST amount under State Plan Scheme as per the terms and conditions stipulated in the annexure to this order.
[ 481 ] 482 LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT [PART–II
2. This issues with the concurrence of the Finance Department vide their I.D. No.E.Comp.No. 19896/FD/F5/A2/FC/24-25, dated 26-02-2025.
(By order of the Lieutenant-Governor)
SUNDARARAJAN. P., Joint Secretary to Government (Agriculture).
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GUIDELINES FOR THE PAYMENT OF SUBSIDY ON THE INSTALLATION OF MICRO IRRIGATION SYSTEM LIKE DRIP/SPRINKLER IN THE FARMERS FIELDS @ 100% SUBSIDY TO SMALL/MARGINAL FARMER AND @ 90% SUBSIDY TO OTHER FARMERS ALONG WITH APPLICABLE GST AMOUNT UNDER PER DROP MORE CROP (PDMC) COMPONENT UNDER RASTRIYA KRISHI VIKAS YOJANA (RKVY) OF CENTRALLY SPONSORED SCHEME AND TOP-UP AMOUNT UNDER STATE PLAN SCHEME
MODUS OPERANDI
I. Introduction.— Water is becoming scarce commodity these days due to competitive demand and also due to the change in climatic behaviour, particularly the erratic nature of rainfall. More than 80% of the available water resource in the country is used in Agricultural Sector for the purpose of irrigation. Hence, promoting efficient use of the available water through technological interventions is one of the priorities in agriculture. Micro Irrigation is one such initiative for enhancing water use efficiency in Agriculture Sector.
The Government of India has been implementing Centrally Sponsored Scheme on Micro Irrigation with the objective to enhance water use efficiency in the agriculture sector by promoting appropriate technological interventions like Drip and Sprinkler irrigation technologies and encourage the farmers to use water saving and conservation technologies. The Ministry is making efforts to bring two million ha. area under micro irrigation per year. Per Drop More Crop (PDMC) focuses on enhancing water use efficiency at farm level through Micro Irrigation viz., Drip and Sprinkler Irrigation systems.
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Micro Irrigation System comprises of :
(a) Drip Irrigation System
(b) Sprinkler Irrigation System like Portable Sprinkler Irrigation system, Micro Sprinkler, Mini Sprinkler, Semi-Permanent Sprinkler, Large Volume Sprinkler (Rain-gun).
II. Objectives.— The main objectives of Per Drop More Crop are
as under:
(a) Increase the area under micro irrigation technologies in
agriculture to enhance water use efficiency.
(b) Increase productivity of crops and income of farmers
through precision water management.
(c) Promote micro irrigation technologies in water intensive / consuming crops like sugarcane, banana, cotton, paddy etc., and give adequate focus to extend coverage of field crops under micro irrigation technologies.
(d) Make potential use of micro irrigation systems for promoting
fertigation.
(e) Promote micro irrigation technologies in water scarce, water
stressed and critical ground water Blocks/Districts.
(f) Link tubewell/river-lift irrigation projects with micro irrigation technologies for best use of energy both for lifting and pressurized irrigation as far as possible.
(g) Establish convergence and synergy with activities of ongoing programmes and Schemes, particularly with created water source for its potential use, integration of solar energy for pressurised irrigation etc.,
(h) Promote, develop and disseminate micro irrigation technology for agriculture and horticulture development with modern scientific knowledge.
(i) Support the initiatives of reuse of waste water in Agriculture/
Peri-urban Horticulture through micro irrigation systems.
(j) Create employment opportunities for skilled and unskilled persons, especially unemployed youth for the installation and maintenance of micro irrigation systems.
484 LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT [PART–II
III. Pattern of Assistance.— The pattern of assistance for the
installation of Micro Irrigation System like Sprinkler/Drip irrigation in
the farmers fields under PDMC of RKVY Scheme is 55% for Small and
Marginal Farmers and 45% for Other Farmers. Further to encourage more
farmers to install Micro Irrigation system, the Government of Puducherry
is also releasing additional amount to the eligible farmers as top-up
subsidy @ 45% to Small Farmer, Marginal and Other Farmers .
Further to reduce the financial burden of the farmer the GST
amount for installation of Micro Irrigation System may also be borne by
the State Government.
Therefore, the pattern of Assistance for the farmers in the Union
territory of Puducherry will be "Payment for installation of Micro
Irrigation system like Drip/Sprinkler irrigation system in the farmers fields
@ 100% subsidy to Small/Marginal farmer and @ 90% subsidy to Other
farmers along with applicable GST amount" under Per Drop More Crop
(PDMC) component under Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana (RKVY) of
Centrally sponsored Scheme and Top-up amount under State Plan
Scheme.
The subsidy payment will be limited to the Indicative unit costs
mentioned in the Operational Guidelines of PDMC for various
technologies and areas or the actual bill of Quantities whichever is less
for installation of micro irrigations system and also subsidy payable will
be limited to an overall ceiling of 5.0 Ha. However, the cost involved
above the indicative cost will be borne by the farmers in both the cases.
IV. Nodal Department.— PDMC focuses on enhancing water use
efficiency at farm level and thereby enhancing agricultural production
and productivity. Therefore, Department of Agriculture and Farmers
Welfare, may be the Nodal Department for implementation of Per Drop
More Crop Scheme. All communication between Department of
Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Government of India and State
Government would be preferably with and through the Nodal Department.
V. Eligibility Criteria.— (a) The farmers willing to install Drip/
Sprinkler irrigation system should own cultivable agricultural land in the
Union territory of Puducherry along with an own/leased tubewell with
adequate water and pumping system.
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(b) The minimum land requirement for installation of Drip
irrigation system is 0.20.00 HAC and for Sprinkler irrigation system is
0.40.00 HAC.
(c) Assistance for installation of micro irrigation system is
limited to (5.0) five hectares per beneficiary. The land holding of
a beneficiary to be covered under Drip/Sprinkler system could be located
in one contiguous area or at different locations, but, the financial
assistance will be limited to the overall ceiling of (5.0) five ha.
(d) A beneficiary having farms located at different places and
having different water source may avail the subsidy as per the
Guidelines. However, a beneficiary cannot split area at one location into
small pockets of the same crop for claiming assistance under the Scheme.
If, a beneficiary has more than one crop with different crop spacing being
grown separately in his/her land holding, assistance will be available
for installing the drip irrigation system as per the individual crop
spacing, the combined area of which will not exceed 5 ha. per beneficiary.
(e) The beneficiaries, who have already availed subsidy benefits
for his/her farm, can not avail the assistance for the next seven years.
A beneficiary if availed the benefit of subsidy for micro irrigation for a
particular farm would be eligible for subsidy again for the same land
only after the end of projected life of the micro irrigation system which
is (7.0) seven years. However, the beneficiary may be allowed to avail
effective differential subsidy in case he intends to install Drip Irrigation
system on the same plot/field from the existing Sprinkler Irrigation
system at least after three years to promote crop diversification
irrespective of seven years subsidy cycle.
(f) In case of inter-cropping, assistance will be available for the
prescribed plant spacing/area, subject to the condition that the
assistance will be provided only for one crop as per the farmers' choice.
(g) The unit cost/BoQs of the MI systems given in the
Operational Guidelines of PDMC are indicative. The beneficiary will be
allowed to opt to make his/her choice for items/components etc., In case,
any deviation from the BoQ, the differential cost shall be borne by the
beneficiary subject to ceiling of unit cost.
486 LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT [PART–II
VI. Inviting Applications.— (i) Advertisement inviting applications will be published in leading local Tamil Dailies in Puducherry and Karaikal regions.
(ii) Application may also be had from the Office of the Hydrogeologist-II, State Ground Water Unit and Soil Conservation, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Thattanchavady, Puducherry 605 009 for Puducherry region and from the Office of the Additional Director of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Karaikal for Karaikal region (or) to apply through the online portal.
VII. Submission of Application.— The farmers who seek to avail themselves of the subsidy will have to apply to the office of the Hydrogeologist-II, State Ground Water Unit and Soil Conservation, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Thattanchavady, Puducherry-605 009 for Puducherry region and the Office of the Additional Director of Agriculture, Department of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Karaikal for Karaikal region in the prescribed application forms (or) to apply in the online portal specified by this Department/Government of India along with following enclosures.
(i) A Revenue Certificate in the prescribed format issued by an authority not below the rank of Deputy Tahsildar of Revenue Department should be enclosed along with the application in support of their claim.
(ii) Copy of Aadhaar Card.
(iii) Copy of Bank Passbook (Aadhaar linked).
(iv) Copy of Farmer's e-id Card.
(v) Copy of Agri-Stack of Agriculture Department in respect of
category of farmers for Small and Marginal farmers.
(vi) Photocopy of the Field Measurement Book (FMB) sketch
of the land consented for installation of Micro Irrigation system.
(vii) Electricity Policy Card of the tubewell used for irrigation.
(vii) Tubewell Registration Certificate in Form-V of Puducherry
Ground Water Authority, Puducherry.
(viii) Family Ration Card.
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VIII. Selection of Manufacturers /Supplier /Dealer and Approval
of Rates of Micro Irrigation Components.— (i) The State Implementing
Agency should conduct inspections at the factory site of the Supplier(s)
through Third Party technical agencies such as Central Institute of
Plastics Engineering and Technology (CIPET), ICAR Institutes, State
Agriculture Universities etc., However, if any State/Union Territory has
already conducted such inspection of a supplier, the inspection report
(of the supplier) may be considered by other States/Union Territories
also.
Therefore, approved empanelled list of Manufacturers/Suppliers/
Dealers of Micro Irrigation system for each year may be obtained from
the neighbouring Tamil Nadu State Government Departments like
Tamil Nadu Horticulture Development Agency (TANHODA),/Department
of Horticulture/Department of Agriculture/Agricultural Engineering
Department.
(ii) (a) All the Micro Irrigation Systems/Components will be
QR coded. The QR code of the system will be linked
to Unique application No./Sanction ID of the farmer
on installation of the system.
(b) The MI manufacturer/supplier should necessarily
generate e-invoice for micro irrigation system
supplied with details of all its components and the
e-invoice shall be captured by the State Portal.
(c) A module/hand book may be devised by the
Implementing Agency/SPV for the benefit of the
farmers with basket of services which includes
Farmer Education and Training (Agronomy services),
maintenance and operating Micro Irrigation systems
etc.,
(d) The MI supplier Agency should provide necessary
services to farmers after installation trail run of the
system for at least three years free of cost. The list
of service centres/offices of authorized distributors
with full address/telephone numbers/e-mail should be
widely published (Inspection/repair/ replacement).
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IX. Optional Components.— The use of optional components depends upon the agro climatic conditions of the place and requirement of the beneficiary. The provision is kept to provide the said component on the then existing rate of subsidy to the beneficiary; if required and provided. These components are :
(i) (a) Fertilizer Tank : To increase fertilizer use efficiency, fertilizer tanks have been included in the list of e q u i p m e n t e l i g i b l e f o r f i n a n c i a l a s s i s t a n c e . The beneficiary can opt for either fertilizer tank or venture system or automated dosing system equipment and financial assistance will be provided for either of those components.
(b) Sand Filters/Media Filters : to remove organic matter and inorganic contaminants from water sources like rivers, tanks and open wells, sand/media filters have been included the financial assistance.
(c) Hydro Cyclone Filters/Sand Seperators : To remove particles of the size of 75 microns (200 mesh) which have a higher density than water, hydro cyclone filters/sand separators have been introduced as an optional item for which financial assistance will be provided. These equipments require minimum maintenance and are useful for cleaning river water, canal water and tubewell water which may contain sand.
X. Selection of Micro Irrigation System by the Farmers.— (i) In case of offline mode, on receipt of the applications, necessary entries will be made in the applications receipt register and seniority number assigned to the applicant for identifying each applicant which shall be used for all future reference and also an acknowledgement for the receipt of the application will be issued to the applicant. In case of online mode, the modalities specified by the Government of India will be followed.
(ii) The beneficiary shall be free to choose MI equipment from any MI manufacturer out of the empanelled list of Registered Manufacturers and also to choose the type of MI system line Drip Irrigation system/Sprinkler Irrigation system like Portable Sprinkler Irrigation system, Micro Sprinkler, Mini Sprinkler, Semi-Permanent Sprinkler, Large Volume Sprinkler (Rain-gun) to be installed as per the system design compatible with his/her cropping pattern.
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XI. Pre-Installation Activities. Payment of non-subsidy portion to the manufacture and issue of work orders.— (i) Disseminate the approved empaneled list of suppliers and approved rate list to the farmers.
(ii) Organize at least one District Level Seminar/Workshop with
the participation of Industry.
(iii) Compile the application submitted by the farmers and scrutinize, codify and forward the same to the company's/Manufacturer's local office indicated by the farmer.
(iv) Preinspection will be conducted by the concerned Agricultural Officer (Engineering) before the installation of Micro Irrigation System in their fields.
(v) The beneficiary shall be free to purchase MI equipment from any MI manufacture out of the approved list of registered manufacturers and also to choose the type of MI system to be installed as per the system design compatible with his/her cropping pattern.
(vi) The manufacturer/company will do/provide the following :
(a) Assess the crop water requirement as per the crop for
which the system is to be provided.
(b) Design the system as per the crop water requirement.
(c) Prepare an estimate of cost and submit it to Implementing Agency duly indicating the time frame in which the system will be installed in the farmer's field once work order is issued.
(vii) The Implementing Agency will approve the estimate, issue
work order and ensure installation.
(viii) The beneficiary share may be deposited with
manufacturer/their representative.
XII. Installation of Micro Irrigation System.— Once the Manufacturer receives the work order, he will install the system and commission it to the satisfaction of the beneficiary duly ensuring that:
(i) Quality components having BIS marking are installed in the farmer's field, and while making payment the Implementing Agency will ensure the BIS standard of supplied equipment, whichever the BIS standard exists.
490 LA GAZETTE DE L'ETAT [PART–II
(ii) The date of manufacturing should be printed on the
components as per prevailing statutory norms.
(iii) Implementing Agency will ensure that MI system installed
in each field bears separate QR Code.
(iv) The installed system should match the water requirement
of the crop.
(v) Necessary orientation and training is given to the beneficiary on the system maintenance and irrigating the crop with Drip/ Sprinkler irrigation.
(vi) Proper warranty and a user's manual for running and maintenance of the system - whether Drip or Sprinkler or both as the case may be is provided to the beneficiary.
(vii) A certificate towards successful installation/commissioning
of the system is obtained from the beneficiary.
XIII. Third Party Inspection.— (i) All land based interventions should be Geo Tagged/Geo Fenced. Krishi Mapper/Mobile App developed by DA&FW shall be used for Geo Tagging/Geo Fencing of farmers' field. The data captured by the App will automatically link with the State MIS portal through API.
(ii) The State Implementing Agency will engage Third Party Inspection Agencies (TPIAs) for conducting inspection/physical verification of the installed Micro Irrigation Systems at every farmers field. The installed site will be verified by these agencies for material supplied and also conduct Trial Run at the site. TPIAs, should capture and upload photographs/videos/report of the MI installation at site which should be made available in the State portal. States/Union Territories should ensure timely installation and third party verification of MI installation. Due penalty should be imposed on supplier if any delay in installation is observed. States/Union Territories must also ensure timely release of subsidy/top-up to the beneficiaries.
XIV. Mode of Disbursement.— (i) Financial Assistance to the beneficiary will be limited to the prescribed subsidy as per unit cost as prescribed under the guidelines or the actual Bill of Quantities (BoQ) whichever is less. On physical verification of satisfactory installation of the system and a certificate to that effect from the beneficiary, Implementing Agency will release payment to the beneficiary electronically in his/her Bank account.
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(ii) The Implementing Agency shall ensure proper invoice with statutory commercial details i.e., Serial number, GSTIN number etc. printed on it and countersigned by the authorized representative of the Micro Irrigation System manufacturer is issued to the beneficiary and subsidy released on the same.
(iii) The Manufacturer will install the system as per the agreement with the State Nodal Agency and the procedure for payment as per the work order issued to them. Electronic mode of payment is required to be followed for most of the transactions for implementation of the programme. In case, the amount is placed with manufacturers/ companies/financial institutions on behalf of beneficiary, the consent of beneficiary is required and the transaction details need to be conveyed to him.
XV. Competent Authority.— The Secretary to Government (Agriculture) shall be the Competent Authority for making any modification if required in the schematic guidelines.
XVI. Evaluation Study.— An evaluation will be undertaken once in five year by an independent Committee to be constituted to ascertain as to whether the objectives of the Scheme been achieved and also to furnish a detailed report to Government of Puducherry/Government of India on the impact of the programme.
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