Saur Sujala Yojana

What is Saur Sujala Yojana?

Saur Sujala Yojana is a Chhattisgarh state scheme that installs solar-powered irrigation pump sets on farmers' fields at a heavily subsidised price. The scheme is implemented by the Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency (CREDA) under the state Energy Department, and it has been running since 2016-17.

The problem the scheme answers is specific to Chhattisgarh. Large parts of the state: particularly the forest belts of Bastar, Surguja and the northern districts, have fields far from a reliable eleven-kilovolt line. Extending grid power to a scattered five-acre holding costs the state more than the farmer will ever pay in tariff. A standalone solar pump removes the grid from the equation altogether: panels on the field, a submersible or surface pump, and water when the sun is up.

According to CREDA, the scheme supplies pumps in three sizes, 2 HP, 3 HP and 5 HP, with the state and central subsidy together covering roughly 90 to 95 per cent of the system cost. The farmer contributes only the remaining share. The scheme's name, sometimes written "Saur Sujla Yojana", combines saur (solar) with sujala, meaning well-watered.

Main features

• Standalone solar photovoltaic pumping systems with no grid connection.
• Three capacities to 2 HP, 3 HP and 5 HP: assigned by technical survey.
• Subsidy of about 90-95 per cent of system cost; CREDA's published ceiling for solar irrigation pumps up to 5 HP is Rs 50 per watt or a maximum of Rs 2 lakh per plant.
• Installation, commissioning and warranty-period maintenance handled by CREDA through empanelled suppliers.
• No monthly electricity bill for pump operation.

Who is eligible for Saur Sujala Yojana?

You can apply if:

• You are a resident of Chhattisgarh and cultivate land within the state.
• You own the land where the pump will be installed, or hold a lawful cultivation right recorded in the revenue papers.
• Your field already has a working water source. A borewell, dug well, farm pond, nala or other accessible water body.
• Your holding has no assured grid electricity supply for irrigation, or grid extension is not feasible. This is the strongest priority category.
• You can pay the beneficiary contribution for the pump size sanctioned.

Small, medium and large farmers are all covered. CREDA's subsidy schedule also allows solar pumping systems for community organisations and government institutions, not only individual farmers.

You cannot apply if:

• Your field has no water source yet. Saur Sujala Yojana supplies the pump only; drilling a borewell or digging a well is not part of the scheme.
• You are not a Chhattisgarh resident or the land lies outside the state.
• You have already received a subsidised solar pump under Saur Sujala Yojana or PM-KUSUM for the same holding. One pump per eligible field is the norm.
• You cannot produce a land record linking you to the field. Informal or disputed occupation without any revenue entry is not eligible.
• Your water source fails the technical survey, for example a borewell whose yield or depth cannot support the pump size applied for.

Priority within the annual district target usually goes to scheduled caste and scheduled tribe farmers, small and marginal holdings, and fields in non-electrified pockets.

What documents do you need?

How to apply for Saur Sujala Yojana

Saur Sujala Yojana is an offline scheme. Applications are received and processed at the district CREDA office, not through a self-service web portal.

1. Collect the application form. Get the Saur Sujala Yojana form from your district CREDA office, or download it from the CREDA website at creda.co.in. District administration websites also host the form.
2. Fill in the form completely; your name as it appears on Aadhaar, village and tehsil, khasra number of the field, the type and depth of your water source, the area you irrigate, and the pump capacity you are seeking.
3. Attach the documents — self-attested copies of your Aadhaar card, land record, bank passbook, caste certificate if you are claiming a priority category, and a passport-size photograph.
4. Submit the file at the district CREDA office and collect a dated acknowledgement with your application number. Keep this; every follow-up runs on that number.
5. Allow the technical survey. A CREDA engineer visits your field to check the water source, measure the static water level and yield, and confirm the pump size that suits the site. Be present, or send someone who can show the field boundaries.
6. Pay the beneficiary contribution once your application is sanctioned. The amount depends on the pump size and the subsidy applicable in that year's sanction. Pay only against a formal demand letter and keep the receipt.
7. Installation and commissioning. The empanelled supplier erects the panel array, installs the pump and hands over the system. Sign the commissioning certificate only after you have seen water delivered.

How to check your application status

1. Quote your application number at the district CREDA office. The status of survey, sanction and installation is tracked there.
2. Ask the CREDA district in-charge whether your case has been included in the current year's district target. Applications beyond the annual target are carried to the next year rather than rejected.
3. After installation, keep the commissioning certificate and warranty document. Any later service claim runs on these papers.
4. For a system that has stopped working, report to the district CREDA office in writing; CREDA routes the complaint to the supplier under the maintenance contract.

Why applications get rejected or delayed

• No functioning water source at the time of survey, the single most common ground for rejection.
• Water source too weak for the pump size applied for; CREDA may sanction a smaller pump instead of the one requested.
• Land record does not match the applicant's name, often because a family holding was never mutated after a death.
• District target exhausted for the year. This is a delay, not a rejection. The application stays in the queue.
• Beneficiary contribution not paid within the period given in the demand letter, after which the sanction lapses.
• Duplicate benefit. A solar pump already sanctioned for the same field under PM-KUSUM or an earlier Saur Sujala sanction.

If your land record is the problem, apply for mutation at the tehsil office and resubmit. If the survey found your borewell too weak, deepening it and asking for a re-survey is the usual route.

What the farmer actually pays and saves

The farmer's share is the balance after subsidy, roughly 5 to 10 per cent of the system cost, depending on the pump size and the year's sanction terms. Against that one-time contribution, a Saur Sujala pump removes two recurring costs: diesel for a pump set, and the electricity bill on a grid connection. It also removes the dependence on supply hours, since the pump runs whenever there is sun, which matters most during the rabi irrigation window.

Chhattisgarh separately subsidises grid-connected agricultural pumps through the Krishak Jeevan Jyoti Yojana. A farmer who already has a reliable grid connection and free or subsidised units under that scheme should compare the two before applying, since a solar pump is most valuable exactly where the grid is not.

Help and grievance redressal

• CREDA head office, Raipur; Chhattisgarh State Renewable Energy Development Agency, Raipur. Contact details are published on creda.co.in; CREDA does not advertise a single toll-free farmer helpline for this scheme.
• District CREDA office. The first point of contact for application status, survey scheduling, sanction and repairs.
• District Collector's Jan Chaupai / grievance cell, for complaints that the CREDA office does not resolve.
• Chhattisgarh state grievance portal, for written complaints with an auditable trail.

Application under Saur Sujala Yojana is free. No agent can charge a fee to "get your pump sanctioned", and the only money a beneficiary pays is the official contribution demanded in writing by CREDA against a receipt.