State farmers may not get drought relief
Tuesday, 25/09/2012
http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120925/punjab.htm#7
Chandigarh : Punjab farmers may not get any relief on account of a partial monsoon failure this season. Speaking at the Rabi 2012 conference in Delhi, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar indicated that Punjab would not be eligible for drought relief. He said the state did not ask the Centre to send a team to assess the damage caused by drought-like conditions, if any. He said his ministry was only pleading the case of states who had declared drought.
Pawar had visited Punjab in August as part of his tour to drought-hit states. He had assured that the Centre would give direct relief to the affected farmers. The state government had demanded a relief package of Rs 5,112 crore.
Pawar had said Punjab must declare a drought to avail of central help. This was not done because the state did not fulfill the norms as 98 per cent of its cultivable area is under assured irrigation supply.
The development is a blow for the SAD-BJP government which had been hoping for a financial bailout for farmers.
State agriculture adviser Dr BS Sidhu said the Punjab farmers should be compensated at least Rs 250 per quintal of paddy as they had spent Rs 6,000 extra per acre on diesel to run agricultural pump sets.
Agriculture Director Mangal Singh said since the Centre had told Punjab farmers to introduce diversification, the state team had demanded assured marketing mechanism as well as a minimum support price (MSP) for alternative crops.
Meanwhile, Bhartiya Kisan Union (Rajewal) president Balbir Singh Rajewal has given a call for gherao of all Congress MPs from Punjab.
