For successive governments, the farm sector has been akin to a pampered child, one whose wrath no party has dared to risk. But it is now time, suggests Price Waterhouse -- commissioned by the Gujarat Electricity Board to study operations, strategy and policy to suggest ways for a financial turnaround -- to distinguish between marginal farmers and their more affluent brethren and revise their power tariff accordingly.

The entire agriculture sector currently pays 20 paise per unit; the brunt of the subsidies are borne by industrial and domestic consumers, who pay Rs 2.25 and Rs 4.50 per unit respectively.

Price Waterhouse, incidentally, is not the only agency underlining the need for a drastic revision in agricultural tariff; theAsian Development Bank, for one, has advised the GEB to overhaul the tariff if it expects any financial assistance from it. In its recently submitted report, Price Waterhouse suggests that the Board gradually increase the agricultural tariff by 2007 till it was 50 per cent of the average sale of electricity or 206 paise per unit. At present, the ``cost of price to serve electricity'' comes to Rs 2.34 paise per unit.

The consultants also advise the government to distinguish between ``the marginal farmers and others'' and limit the subsidy to the truly needy. Highly placed Board sources agreed that the state government would have to move towards a more egalitarian tariff structure sooner or later. ``It's all about taking a decision that will not make a government popular with the strong farmers' lobby'', said a senior GEB officer.

The State government has already taken a step in the right direction by deciding to form a Tariff Regulatory Commission.

A senior Board officer told The Indian Expressthat though they had proposed a tariff revision sometime ago, they'd been waiting for the formation of the TRC. ``The recommendations will be forwarded to the government after the Board ratifies it'', he added.

That the government decision -- if it comes at all -- won't come too early was apparent from Finance Minister Vajubhai Vala's recent statements, where he referred only to cutting transmission and distribution losses and checking power theft. Never mind the GEB hints of requiring an additional Rs 500 crore to offset losses incurred by way of agricultural subsidies in the current financial year. Though Vala's steps will help make up part of the losses, in the long run they'll inadequate, according to sources.

Meanwhile, the Board has already started acting on few of the other recommendations of the consultants, including demanding better quality coal from Coal India Limited and rationalising railway routes for coal delivery to power stations.