Saturday, August 25, 2012

Maharashtra Govt. “Drought Relief Package” is ignoring Agrarian crisis


Maharashtra Govt. “Drought Relief Package” is ignoring Agrarian crisis

Nagpur -25th August, 2012
Maharashtra having declared Drought in 123 Talukas  by changing Norms and selecting blocks  as per will and wish of  Cong-NCP Ministers now Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan  yesterday petitioned top Union Ministers, including  Sharad Pawar  and P Chidambaram  for immediate financial assistance to mitigate the impact of the natural calamity is meeting today Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Planning commission officials to demand a "special package" to alleviate the state's drought crisis. He wants Singh to open new funding windows for drought mitigation measures not covered under the existing National Drought Response Fund (NDRF) is being termed as political move by cotton ,soya and paddy growers farmers  alleging that as it happened in past relief packages are always contractor and politician driven will be siphoned out and main agrarian crisis which is in more than 90 lakh hector will be completely ignored , Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti chief Kishore Tiwari informed today.
‘the agrarian crisis in Maharashtra this year has very typical due untimely monsoon rain and quantum of which has damaged more than 2 million hector  standing crop of cotton ,soya and paddy area of vidarbha, Marathawada,Kokan and other khandesh-North Maharashtra  even rain fall is below 50% in some of area crop condition is good where as larger part central India where monsoon rain is above average crop is condition too poor to asses but ‘drought relief packages and talukas included’ have ignored these crisis which will agrrivate situation hence  central team should asses the ground reality and then give financial node to political drought relief package of Maharashtra Govt.’Tiwari added.

It is reported that Maharashtra CM Chavan decided to approach PM after a Sharad Pawar-led group of the Union cabinet expressed inability to take a call on the demand. The state government has sought Rs 2,275 crore in aid for completion of 105 irrigation projects-35 in Vidharbha, 40 in Marathwada, and 30 in the rest of Maharashtra-in drought-prone areas by July 2013. It also wants Rs 580 crore for construction of cement check dams, which is also not covered under NDRF. A section of the political leadership, however, believes that the demand is an attempt to secure more aid for the controversy-ridden irrigation sector hence there is opposition from majority of Maharashtra farmers but same time they welcome central Govt. to consider revision in norms for funding aid to fodder depots and renovation to regional water supply scheme but till  core issues of Credit,Crop, Ground Water Crisis and Minimum Support Price for Maharashtra main cash crop like cotton ,soya and sugarcane  which are basic cause of on going farmer suicides and prevailing agrarian crisis are even listed  which is much more irritating ,we can not allow politician to siphon out thousands crore rupees in the name of relief packages hence we demand hike in MSP and direct subsidies to dry land farmers to decease cost of cultivation hence  we are against CM designed special relief package ,Tiwari said

No comments: