Page 26 - 28FEB2019E

Expectations of

rural voters belied

The budget proposals lack intent on part of Modi-led NDA government to seriously address
the issues of farmers, which include a free market and a remunerative price of

their produce, writes komal amit gera

he interim budget of the out- is around 20,000 to 25,000 per acre. leader from Maharashtra told that the
going NDA government has A 5-acre farmer needs more than schemes like PM Samman Nidhi makes
belied the expectations of 1,00,000 as an investment for each a farmer feel like a beggar. Like any
the rural voters. Revised pol- season. How can 6000 per year given other business, agriculture cannot sus-
T icy framework to tackle low in three installments remove his/her tain on support by government for long.
prices of food produce and stagnant need to go to moneylender? Government is always keen to inter-
farmers’ income along with a holistic Comparing the new proposed vene if food prices rise but farmers are
approach to pull out the farmers from scheme of Government of India with left to fend for themselves when prices
economic distress was expected and some states’ existing similar schemes, drop. The Minimum support price
predicted in media reports during the he said that Rythu Bandhu scheme of regime is also eyewash. Such initiatives
last few weeks. Telangana provides 10,000 per acre only result in burgeoning fiscal budgets
The budget proposals announced by of support, which means that a 5-acre of the governments and farmers get a
the Finance Minister Piyush Goyal con- farmer would get 50,000 per year, minimal benefit out of such schemes.
vey a lack of intent on part of Modi led giving at least partial support towards The farmers are also skeptical of
NDA government to seriously address cultivation cost. how the funds will reach 12 crore eligi-
the issues of farmers in India. The farm- KALIA scheme of Odisha govern- ble farmers within a month or two. It is
ers across India want a free market and ment provides 10,000 per farmer in almost impossible to prepare a master
a remunerative price of their produce two installments. The support covers list of all the eligible landholders based
and considered the budget proposals Landless agricultural workers, Ten- on land records across the country.
only as empty announcements of new ant farmers and Sharecroppers also, There is speculation that some ex-
schemes or dressing up of old schemes, whereas all these categories are left isting database such as crop insurance
without much change on the ground. out of PM-KISAN. Both Rythu Bandhu database or soil health database would
According to Dharmendra Malik of and KALIA include a life insurance be used. However, this would be highly
Bhartiya Kisan Union, Government’s component of 5 lakhs and 2 lakhs problematic because lakhs of farmers
declaration of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi respectively. Therefore, the PM-KISAN may not have opted to include in those
is effectively an insult to the farmers — scheme is disadvantageous compared schemes for various reasons including
6000 per family per year too meager to the two schemes already in place in not being convinced of their utility. If
to make any difference to the farmers’ Telangana and Odisha. they are left out of the PM-KISAN for
plight. The farmers are annoyed for the that reason, it would be a large injustice.
Finance Minister said that it is a Millions of tenant farmers, sharecrop- Hiking MSP and ensuring that all
major step towards doubling farmers’ pers, landless agricultural workers, farmers get the Minimum Support
income and that the farmers will not adivasi farmers without land pattas, Price were the major declarations of
need to go to moneylenders. This shows distressed rainfed farmers owning the previous Budget 2018. The raising of
that the government is completely dis- more than 5 acres have been excluded MSP to 1.5 times Cost of Production de-
connected from the reality of farmers. in this scheme. ceived farmers as the government used
The Cost of Cultivation for most crops Gunvant Patil, a senior farmer a partial cost measure (A2+FL) instead

Tehelka / 28 february 2019 26 www.Tehelka.com