Cotton Farmers demands C.B.I. probe in to alleged Rs.500 Crore scam of Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran to stop Cotton Bale-Yarn Export

Cotton Farmers demands C.B.I. probe in to alleged Rs.500 Crore scam of Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran to stop Cotton Bale-Yarn Export

Nagpur - JULY 8 2011

The present cotton crisis in India is result of wrong policies enforced by ex-textile minister of India to protect interest on handful textile mill owners which has denied best available price of cotton to 1 billion cotton farmers of India and resulted in the total losses of more than Rs.20,000 crore to farmers and local ginners and traders as complete ban on export from January to may 2011 has forced to them to offload the cotton or cotton bales at the half price which was prevailing till march 2011 .all decision of putting stringent restrictions of cotton bales export even on cotton yarn and cotton waste was to favor textile mills and garment industries of south India who paid thousand crore as graft to then Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran and there are documentary evidences of ill-intended decisions taken by textile ministry in last six months and we demand C.B.I. probe to this “Cotton Export Ban Scam” kishore tiwari of Vidarbha Janandoaln Samiti urged Indian Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh to in letter today.

“In letter to Indian Prime Minister Dr.Manmohan Singh on 24^th may 2011 ,vidarbha cotton farmers raised the demand of sack Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran when textile minister was not responding to letters written by union agriculture minister ,union commerce minister, chief ministers Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra and Karnataka and delayed the decision of lifting cotton export limit from 55 lakhs bales to 65 lakhs bales as against demand of minimum 100 lakhs bales .we have strong case against the Ex-Textile Minister Dayanidhi Maran and ready to submit all proof of mega corruption to C.B.I. if PMO direct the CBI for the same .if PMO fails to take any action the we will move Mumbai high court Nagpur bench for relief ”Tiwari added.

VJAS recalled the letter wrote to PMO iN MAY-2011 and it is reprouced

QUOTE

=============

cotton price are further crashed in India more farmers suicides are being reported the reason for much Taboo on Cotton exports from India is result of unholy cartel of finger counting textile tycoon and Union Textile Minister Dayanithi Maran which is responsible for present cotton rowers crisis in India ,farm activist group Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti VJAS allged and urged indaina prime minister to sack Union Textile Minister Dayanithi Maran to save more than 5 million dyinf cotton afrmers of Maharashtra ,Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti VJAS informed in press note today .

“Hindered of cotton farmers and farm widows are marching to Delhi to meet Indian Prime Minister and UPA Convener Smt.Sonia Gandhi for urgent intervention in order to resolve the crisis as Textile minister initially restricted cotton bales export to 55 lakhs bales from earlier year 84 lakh bales even when country cotton production is higher by another 25 lakhs bales then ban export of cotton yarn and now surprisingly as per Quota Policy of Cotton items now added Cotton Waste ( Comber Noil) H. S. Code No. 5202 as

Cotton Waste is a ‘By-product’ of Cotton Yarn. when plenty of quota of Cotton Yarn lying unutilized the hostile functioning of Union Textile Minister Dayanithi Maran has a allaowed textile cartel to include the by-product banned with a major raw material and brought under same category in the field of exports” Tiwari said..

“Cotton prices have increased from rs 30000/candy in april 2010 to Rs 60000/candy April 2011 which is an increase of about Rs 70-75 per kg and immediately Spinners increased the price of yarn from rs 150/- per kg in April 2010 for 30s combed to Rs 230/- per kg in April 2011. increase of Rs 80 per kg which reflects in cotton value to Rs 30000/per candy minimum. Fabric weavers too have increased prices of grey fabric of 40 x 40 counts 124 x 64 with 200 gm per mtr which is quoted at about Rs 70/- per sqmtr as against Rs 38 in April 2010. There s an increase of Rs 32/mtr which is Rs 160/- per kg which in terms of candy is about Rs 58/60000 and present ban on export has brought back cotton prices to the level of April 2010 which is artificial an stage managed and Union Textile Minister Dayanithi Maran is directly involved in this scam ” Tiwari added.

‘As Cotton is an agricultural commodity and higher the prices farmers get, they will be encouraged to produce more and more of cotton and when Cotton production has grown from a low of 225 lac bales to 330 lac bales in last 5 years the undue protection to Local textile mills benefiting of buying Indian cotton at prices which are at least

lower by 30% as compared to its competitor in Bangladesh, Pakistan and other countries who buy from other growths which is reason behind the present restriction of cotton export and when Indian cotton after lot of hard work and promotion by exporters have found a very stable and regular market of its cotton in foreign countries and Govt should ensure that the markets created are not lost to competition due to faulty Govt policies.” It is alleged.

UNQUOTE

=============

‘We need the urgent central intervention and demand to lift all export restriction of cotton bales and yarn too so that farmers get higher price to cotton ‘’Tiwari urged.

Posted by PLEASE SAVE VIDARBHA FARMER at 10:14 PM

Vidarbha leaders keenly watch Telangana situation-TIMES OF INDIA

Vidarbha leaders keenly watch Telangana situation-TIMES OF INDIA

Printed from

Vidarbha leaders keenly watch Telangana situation

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Vidarbha-leaders-keenly-watch-T-situation/articleshow/9114890.cms

***"We are hopeful that Vidarbha statehood demand would not be ignored this time. Most people of the region support the demand. If they are not on the streets fighting for it like in Telangana, it is because of the failed political leaders of the region who have time and again betrayed the cause," said Kishor Tiwari. "It is now beyond doubt that the developmental backlog of Vidarbha can not be removed as Maharashtra faces financial crunch. A new state is the only solution," ****

Ramu Bhagwat, TNN | Jul 6, 2011, 03.54am IST

NAGPUR: With Telangana burning again, following en masse resignations of MLAs, MPs and ministers, pro-Vidarbha leaders are watching the situation in the neighboring state keenly. The Congress leaders in this region are hoping that the demand of statehood for Vidarbha, which is older, is tagged along and the Centre takes a holistic view on smaller states.

A day after Telangana resignations, frontline leaders of all parties in Vidarbha preferred to keep a studied silence but non-political activists and social leaders supporting the cause of a separate state from Maharashtra came together under the banner of Vidarbha Rajya Nirman Samiti (VRNS). This new organization was floated by some non-political persons after the all-party entity Vidarbha Rajya Sangram Samiti formed last year went defunct.

A day-long 'dharna' (sit-in) organized by the VRNS on Tuesday was a big draw with supporters joining in batches. Prominent leaders of VRNS including Dr Govind Verma, Haribhau Kedar, Shrinivas Khandewale, Rajkumar Tirpude, Ram Neole, B C Bhartiya, Kishore Tiwari, Ghanshyam Panpaliya later went in a delegation to submit a memorandum to the district collector. The memorandum addressed to prime minister Manmohan Singh stressed that the demand for Vidarbha was a century old and reasons for it were relevant today. Developmental aspirations of people of this region could be met only when a separate state of Vidarbha was created, the memorandum stated.

"The first states reorganization committee had supported creation of Vidarbha because of the region's distinct identity in central India. The Congress is unwilling as separate Vidarbha does not suit it politically," said Dr Verma. He said top leaders of all political parties in the region had lost credibility and that was the reason the statehood movement lost the mass appeal it had in the late 70s when Jambuwantrao Dhote led the agitation.

A VRNS delegation was leaving shortly for New Delhi to meet president Pratibha Patil, the prime minister, Congress president Sonia Gandhi, BJP chief Nitin Gadkari as well as all parties supporting the cause of smaller states. "We are hopeful that Vidarbha statehood demand would not be ignored this time. Most people of the region support the demand. If they are not on the streets fighting for it like in Telangana, it is because of the failed political leaders of the region who have time and again betrayed the cause," said Kishor Tiwari. "It is now beyond doubt that the developmental backlog of Vidarbha can not be removed as Maharashtra faces financial crunch. A new state is the only solution," said another VRNS leader.

Posted by VIDARBHA FARMER SUICIDE at 9:27 PM

IN VIDARBHA - 6 cotton farmers commit suicide-Hindustan Times

IN VIDARBHA - 6 cotton farmers commit suicide NAGPUR:5 july 2011 Pradip Kumar Maitra pradipmaitra@hindustantimes.com

In the last three days, six cotton growers in Vidarbha committed suicide after the errant monsoon damaged their crops. According to reports, the victims hailed from Yavatmal district.In the last three days, six cotton growers in Vidarbha have committed suicide after the errant monsoon damaged their crops. According to sources, on Monday, three victims were from Yavatmal district -the epicentre of farmer suicides. They have been identified as Madhukar Choudhary, 55, from Kalamb village, Mahadeo Shamsunder, 50, from Rohi village and Jairam Todsam, 54, from Chikhaldoh village. The other three victims 2 have been identified as 5 Suvash Kharode, 52, from Rondala village in Akola district, Rajendra Kore, 32, from Tadas village in Bhandara district and Punjabrao Bhimrao Mudre, 48, from Umbarkhed village in Amravati district. While Kore committed suicide by jumping into a well, Shamsunder died by hanging himself. The other four victims died by swallowing pesticide, the reports said. With these deaths, the toll of farmers' casualties has risen to eight this month while the figure was 38 last month. This year, the early onset of the monsoon raised hopes of a good harvest and the region's three million farmers spent a huge sum of money on buying Bt cotton seeds. However, the ensuing dry spell damaged cotton seeds sown on at least 10 lakh hectares in Vidarbha. The situation is worse in the cotton-soyabean belt in Amravati, western Vidarbha, where no sowing has been undertaken in three districts -Buldhana, Washim and Nagpur -because of the poor monsoon. Since January this year, 331 Vidarbha farmers have ended their lives due to the agrarian crisis, claims Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti, which has been documenting farmers suicide in the region since 2001. He added that, on an average, two farmers commit suicide every day in Vidarbha, and that the figure could rise if the state government fails to take preventive measures. Shravan Hardikar, the district collector of Yavatmal district said, “I have sought details of the latest suicides from the concerned officer. Whether all these suicides were a result of the agrarian crisis is yet to be ascertained.“ T

Poor Rains Claims five vidarbha farmers Suicides in 72 hours :Delayed monsoon damaged sowing in 10 lakhs hector

Poor Rains Claims five vidarbha farmers Suicides in 72 hours :Delayed monsoon damaged sowing in 10 lakhs hector

NAGPUR :Jul 3, 2011

Vidarbha agrarian crisis has once trigrred in to farm suicide spiral as five more debt trapped vidarbha farmers suicides reported in last 72 hours and names of illfated farmers are

1.Mahadev Tukaram Shamsundar of Rohi in Yavtmal

2.Subhash Kiran Kharode of Rouindala in Akola

3. Madhukar Zituji Choudhari of Kalmb in Yavatmal

4.Punjabrao Bhimrao Mudre of Umbarkhed in Amaravati

5.Jayta Kisan Todsam of Village Chikhaldoh in Yavatmal

taking toll to 431 in year 2011 as per crime dat record of state administration, Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti informed in press release today

Early good rain followed by weather forecast of very good monsoon has forced more than 3 million farmers mstly cotton farmers of vidarbha to do sowing that’s too of very costly Bt.cotton seed purchased from market at the premium has been disastrous has last dry spell has all most damaged the sawing in at least 10 Lakh hector and more and more damages are daily reported which is serious signal of getting agrarian crisis triggered as once again vidarbha cotton farmers mostly credit starved and are facing khariff season after getting very heavy losses due to very poor prices to cotton and soybean and pluses last year ,may result in more farm suicides if corrective steps and bailout packages are not given to these crisisprone farmer ,tiwari informed .

Now it is reported that poor rainfall even after onset of July has started sending panic signals among farming community all over Vidarbha. The situation is worst in the cotton-soyabean belt of western Vidarbha's Amravati division, where at least in three districts practically no sowing operation could be started because of poor monsoon activity.Even as top agriculture officials of Nagpur and Amravati division are hopeful that rains in the next couple of days could save the situation, farmers in some areas have already started counting their losses.Buldhana fares the worst with 61% deficient rains for the season followed by Washim (-37%) and Nagpur district (-33%) according to rainfall figures proffered by the regional Met office here. "But there is hope. A low pressure system is developing over the Bay of Bengal which could bring rains in the next couple of days to the region," a weather bureau official informed ."Farmers in Akola, Amravati and Buldhana are waiting for regular rains to arrive before they can start the sowing operation. Till now these districts have not got more than few drizzles which were no good enough to get going with sowing," said Suresh Ambulgekar, divisional joint director of agriculture of Amravati division to media today .

In Yavatmal and Washim districts where there were some good wet days initially, farmers hurried up and completed sowing in up to 80% of cultivable land," the official added. "Now the situation is getting a bit worrisome. If it does not rain well, like last year when good monsoon arrived only in July, farmers will become desperate," said Ambulgekar added.

.A silent farm suicide epidemic is speeding allover vidarbha , however, has gripped food-grain cultivators not just in Vidarbha but across central India’s rain-fed belt. This year, many of them have suffered huge losses despite a good crop, and despite the food inflation in the markets last year.

‘MPCC president and Maharashtra minister from cotton belt even cotton federation is demanding cotton MSP Rs.5000/- quintal as against central decision enhance it by Rs.300 as per CACP recommendation moreover NCP party partner in maharashtra Govt. is openly demanding lifting ban on cotton export as 5 million cotton farmers are in debt trap and now poor monsoon and delay rain has made life of these 5 million cotton afrmers more miserable hence urgent step to provide integrated relief package is msut in oder to save lives of theses dying farmers” Tiwari urged

==============================================

Poor rains panic Vidarbha farmers-TIMES OF INDIA

Poor rains panic Vidarbha farmers-TIMES OF INDIA

Ramu Bhagwat, TNN | Jul 3, 2011, 01.08am IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Poor-rains-panic-Vidarbha-farmers/articleshow/9081587.cms?prtpage=1

NAGPUR: Poor rainfall even after onset of July has started sending panic signals among farming community all over Vidarbha. The situation is worst in the cotton-soyabean belt of western Vidarbha's Amravati division, where at least in three districts practically no sowing operation could be started because of poor monsoon activity.

Even as top agriculture officials of Nagpur and Amravati division are hopeful that rains in the next couple of days could save the situation, farmers in some areas have already started counting their losses.

Except for Bhandara district which recorded a good rainfall of 28% above average, the other 10 districts of Vidarbha are reeling under below average rains till date for the monsoon period accounted from June 1.

Buldhana fares the worst with 61% deficient rains for the season followed by Washim (-37%) and Nagpur district (-33%) according to rainfall figures proffered by the regional Met office here. "But there is hope. A low pressure system is developing over the Bay of Bengal which could bring rains in the next couple of days to the region," a weather bureau official told ToI on Saturday.

"Farmers in Akola, Amravati and Buldhana are waiting for regular rains to arrive before they can start the sowing operation. Till now these districts have not got more than few drizzles which were no good enough to get going with sowing," said Suresh Ambulgekar, divisional joint director of agriculture of Amravati division.

In Yavatmal and Washim districts where there were some good wet days initially, farmers hurried up and completed sowing in up to 80% of cultivable land," the official added. "Now the situation is getting a bit worrisome. If it does not rain well, like last year when good monsoon arrived only in July, farmers will become desperate," said Ambulgekar.

"There has not been much progress in farming operations in Nagpur division," said J C Bhutada, joint director of agriculture for Nagpur division covering Nagpur, Wardha and paddy belt of Bhandara, Gondia, Chandrapur and Gadchiroli.

Nuresries have been prepared but paddy transplantation. District superintendent Uday Patil said about 35% of sowing work in 1.40 lakh hectares of the total over 5 lakh hectares was completed in the district. He lamented that farmers do no take up water conservation work in MREGS schemes. "And now that rains are scarce, they are looking for help. What can the government do if rains fail," he asked.

Farm crisis: A bullock cart for Ramrao-DNA

Farm crisis: A bullock cart for Ramrao

***=================================***

“With policies like these, is it surprising that on an average three debt ridden farmers commit suicide every single day,” Kishor Tiwari says, adding, “In 1961, when cotton sold for Rs350 a quintal, one could buy a tola (which was then 12 gm) of gold. Now, simply buying the monthly groceries for the house is not possible when prices stand at Rs3,500 a quintal.” (Incidentally, a tola of gold is now only 10gm and sells for a whopping Rs22,500.)

And yet, barely a month ago in Mumbai, while launching the social banking initiatives of Union Bank of India, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told a gathering of bankers, “Financial inclusion is a key determinant of sustainable inclusive growth essential to building an equitable society and w

ill help the rural hinterland with a growing India."

**=========================================**

Farm crisis: A bullock cart for Ramrao

DNA / Yogesh Pawar / Sunday, July 3, 2011 8:00 IST

URL of the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_farm-crisis-a-bullock-cart-for-ramrao_1561670-all

What is common to the black-and-white classic, Oh re taal mile nadi ke jal mein from Raj Kapoor’s Teesri Kasam and Gadiwale gadi dheere haak re from Mehboob Khan’s classic Mother India or any painting of a rural landscape? The humble bullock cart, of course, which has often been used to evoke idyllic visions of pastoral life.

But look anywhere in our villages and the bullock cart comes across as anything but romantic. Take the example of 52-year-old Ramrao Ranganna Tadpalliwar. This resident of Akoli village of Kelapur tehsil, Yavatmal district, in the heart of Vidharba’s suicide country is a worried man. His bullock cart axle has broken and the rains may hit his arid two and half acre field any day.

“This teakwood bullock cart has been in the family for 25 years now. But for a good axle, I’ll have to shell out at least Rs18,000, while the craftsman who makes and attaches it wants another Rs2,000,” he rues. The ramshackle bullock cart has seen many repairs to its side panels and the wheels, but investing in a new cart will mean spending between Rs2-2.25 lakh.

The noose around his neck

With two mouths to feed at home, and the interest mounting on a loan taken for marrying off his youngest daughter Sarika last year, he’s anxious to ensure he’s able to grow paddy this season. “I’ve not even been able to pay the interest to the moneylender for that loan. Every passing day feels like a noose tightening around my neck,” he says. He’s been using a neighbour’s cart to lug hay and farming equipment for now, but once tilling begins, the neighbour will want his cart back.

Tadpalliwar has spent the better part of the week going to the tehsil office and pleading with contacts so that he can get a loan from a money lender before it is too late. Ask him why he can’t go to a bank, and he laughs. “That is all for big people in cities,” he says. “There’s just one bank and after a week of running around there, I realised that it will take me really long just to get my BPL (below poverty line) papers done. Even if I get them and bribe all the right people, the loan could take several months to come through. The paddy season will have come and gone by then.”

Across the state, 390km away at Pangaon, near Barshi in Western Maharashtra, 32-year-old Narasayya Sadafule has been going from pillar to post trying to get a loan under one of the 27 official schemes which purportedly cater to the ‘BPL’ rural poor. All he needs is Rs72,000 to buy a bullock. “Even if I get some part of the money, I’ll pawn my wife’s jewellery to make up for the deficit,” says the farmer who lost a bullock a month ago. Ignoring a fever, he makes a round of the government offices every day in the hope that something will work out.

“If nothing works, I will have to ask my son to discontinue school this season and work with me on other people’s fields so that we can make ends meet,” he says. He remembers how when his son, who just moved to Std IX this year, was born there were plans to make him a doctor. “With worries about where the next meal is coming from now, all that will have to wait.”

In an unequal agrarian society, dominated by landlords, moneylenders and traders, land reforms, public investment and decentralised planning would have made a difference. “Unfortunately, the economic reforms after 1991 have only deepened historical inequalities,” observes agronomist Prof R Ramakumar from TISS.

As the country goes through what many agronomists call “its worst agrarian crisis,” loss of either the cart or bullocks can deal a body blow to the already tenuous link between poor farmers and their livelihood as it is often not only a mode of transport but also the only way to carry farm produce and equipment back and forth from fields.

The contrast

Away from Bharat, in an India that largely lives in its shiny new mall-multiplex megalopolises, the contrast with how easily funds are available to buy increasingly cheaper cars comes to mind. The excitement over the Rs1 lakh car has further escalated, with Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors and now even Mercedes trying to rev up sales of petrol models with loans at 6.99%.

“Why can’t farmers also avail of loans as easily?” asks Kishor Tiwari, leader of the farmers’ advocacy group Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti. “It’s strange that a man who makes only Rs25,000 or lesser and doesn’t even have a home to his name can walk into a bank and get a loan upto a lakh easily. Yet a farmer who owns 10 acres will either be refused outright or be offered a piddly Rs10,000 as upper limit for a loan.”

Unravelling why this happens will mean looking at the Union ministry of finance’s data, according to which only 5% of the country’s villages are “banked.” So, quite a lot of ground needs to be covered in taking public banking to the poor. The time-tested way to do this would be to open more public bank branches in rural areas.

When we did it right

In fact, public banking in India between 1969 and 1991 is a model for all developing countries. In this period, India managed to increase rural branches of commercial banks by nearly eight times. However, post-1991, as senior economist and faculty at TISS R Ramakumar points out, the framework provided to the banks by Indian public policy changed dramatically. “While the earlier policy had social objectives, the present one has solely business objectives. Thus, every policy measure that aims to expand financial inclusion is tested at the altar of profits and losses,” he points out. “It is then no surprise that there has been a sharp fall in the extent of penetration of public banks in rural areas.”

The steady shift favouring high-value, export-oriented and capital-intensive agriculture has seen large corporate houses and institutions receive a significant amount of loans, which get counted as agricultural credit. While they avail of tax benefits in the name of these agricultural loans, small and marginal farmers like Tadpalliwar and Sadafule are nowhere on the radar.

“With policies like these, is it surprising that on an average three debt ridden farmers commit suicide every single day,” Kishor Tiwari says, adding, “In 1961, when cotton sold for Rs350 a quintal, one could buy a tola (which was then 12 gm) of gold. Now, simply buying the monthly groceries for the house is not possible when prices stand at Rs3,500 a quintal.” (Incidentally, a tola of gold is now only 10gm and sells for a whopping Rs22,500.)

And yet, barely a month ago in Mumbai, while launching the social banking initiatives of Union Bank of India, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told a gathering of bankers, “Financial inclusion is a key determinant of sustainable inclusive growth essential to building an equitable society and will help the rural hinterland with a growing India.”

Meanwhile, in that “rural hinterland,” only a miracle can ensure that Tadpalliwar gets his bullock cart up and running and yet have enough funds for seeds and fertiliser to ensure a bountiful crop. “One good paddy yield will pull me out of debt and solve our problems,” he says. If only the gods were listening...

URL of the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_farm-crisis-a-bullock-cart-for-ramrao_1561670-all

Farm crisis: A bullock cart for Ramrao-DNA

Farm crisis: A bullock cart for Ramrao

***=================================***

“With policies like these, is it surprising that on an average three debt ridden farmers commit suicide every single day,” Kishor Tiwari says, adding, “In 1961, when cotton sold for Rs350 a quintal, one could buy a tola (which was then 12 gm) of gold. Now, simply buying the monthly groceries for the house is not possible when prices stand at Rs3,500 a quintal.” (Incidentally, a tola of gold is now only 10gm and sells for a whopping Rs22,500.)

And yet, barely a month ago in Mumbai, while launching the social banking initiatives of Union Bank of India, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told a gathering of bankers, “Financial inclusion is a key determinant of sustainable inclusive growth essential to building an equitable society and w

ill help the rural hinterland with a growing India."

**=========================================**

Farm crisis: A bullock cart for Ramrao

DNA / Yogesh Pawar / Sunday, July 3, 2011 8:00 IST

URL of the article: http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report_farm-crisis-a-bullock-cart-for-ramrao_1561670-all

What is common to the black-and-white classic, Oh re taal mile nadi ke jal mein from Raj Kapoor’s Teesri Kasam and Gadiwale gadi dheere haak re from Mehboob Khan’s classic Mother India or any painting of a rural landscape? The humble bullock cart, of course, which has often been used to evoke idyllic visions of pastoral life.

But look anywhere in our villages and the bullock cart comes across as anything but romantic. Take the example of 52-year-old Ramrao Ranganna Tadpalliwar. This resident of Akoli village of Kelapur tehsil, Yavatmal district, in the heart of Vidharba’s suicide country is a worried man. His bullock cart axle has broken and the rains may hit his arid two and half acre field any day.

“This teakwood bullock cart has been in the family for 25 years now. But for a good axle, I’ll have to shell out at least Rs18,000, while the craftsman who makes and attaches it wants another Rs2,000,” he rues. The ramshackle bullock cart has seen many repairs to its side panels and the wheels, but investing in a new cart will mean spending between Rs2-2.25 lakh.

The noose around his neck

With two mouths to feed at home, and the interest mounting on a loan taken for marrying off his youngest daughter Sarika last year, he’s anxious to ensure he’s able to grow paddy this season. “I’ve not even been able to pay the interest to the moneylender for that loan. Every passing day feels like a noose tightening around my neck,” he says. He’s been using a neighbour’s cart to lug hay and farming equipment for now, but once tilling begins, the neighbour will want his cart back.

Tadpalliwar has spent the better part of the week going to the tehsil office and pleading with contacts so that he can get a loan from a money lender before it is too late. Ask him why he can’t go to a bank, and he laughs. “That is all for big people in cities,” he says. “There’s just one bank and after a week of running around there, I realised that it will take me really long just to get my BPL (below poverty line) papers done. Even if I get them and bribe all the right people, the loan could take several months to come through. The paddy season will have come and gone by then.”

Across the state, 390km away at Pangaon, near Barshi in Western Maharashtra, 32-year-old Narasayya Sadafule has been going from pillar to post trying to get a loan under one of the 27 official schemes which purportedly cater to the ‘BPL’ rural poor. All he needs is Rs72,000 to buy a bullock. “Even if I get some part of the money, I’ll pawn my wife’s jewellery to make up for the deficit,” says the farmer who lost a bullock a month ago. Ignoring a fever, he makes a round of the government offices every day in the hope that something will work out.

“If nothing works, I will have to ask my son to discontinue school this season and work with me on other people’s fields so that we can make ends meet,” he says. He remembers how when his son, who just moved to Std IX this year, was born there were plans to make him a doctor. “With worries about where the next meal is coming from now, all that will have to wait.”

In an unequal agrarian society, dominated by landlords, moneylenders and traders, land reforms, public investment and decentralised planning would have made a difference. “Unfortunately, the economic reforms after 1991 have only deepened historical inequalities,” observes agronomist Prof R Ramakumar from TISS.

As the country goes through what many agronomists call “its worst agrarian crisis,” loss of either the cart or bullocks can deal a body blow to the already tenuous link between poor farmers and their livelihood as it is often not only a mode of transport but also the only way to carry farm produce and equipment back and forth from fields.

The contrast

Away from Bharat, in an India that largely lives in its shiny new mall-multiplex megalopolises, the contrast with how easily funds are available to buy increasingly cheaper cars comes to mind. The excitement over the Rs1 lakh car has further escalated, with Maruti Suzuki, Hyundai, Tata Motors and now even Mercedes trying to rev up sales of petrol models with loans at 6.99%.

“Why can’t farmers also avail of loans as easily?” asks Kishor Tiwari, leader of the farmers’ advocacy group Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti. “It’s strange that a man who makes only Rs25,000 or lesser and doesn’t even have a home to his name can walk into a bank and get a loan upto a lakh easily. Yet a farmer who owns 10 acres will either be refused outright or be offered a piddly Rs10,000 as upper limit for a loan.”

Unravelling why this happens will mean looking at the Union ministry of finance’s data, according to which only 5% of the country’s villages are “banked.” So, quite a lot of ground needs to be covered in taking public banking to the poor. The time-tested way to do this would be to open more public bank branches in rural areas.

When we did it right

In fact, public banking in India between 1969 and 1991 is a model for all developing countries. In this period, India managed to increase rural branches of commercial banks by nearly eight times. However, post-1991, as senior economist and faculty at TISS R Ramakumar points out, the framework provided to the banks by Indian public policy changed dramatically. “While the earlier policy had social objectives, the present one has solely business objectives. Thus, every policy measure that aims to expand financial inclusion is tested at the altar of profits and losses,” he points out. “It is then no surprise that there has been a sharp fall in the extent of penetration of public banks in rural areas.”

The steady shift favouring high-value, export-oriented and capital-intensive agriculture has seen large corporate houses and institutions receive a significant amount of loans, which get counted as agricultural credit. While they avail of tax benefits in the name of these agricultural loans, small and marginal farmers like Tadpalliwar and Sadafule are nowhere on the radar.

“With policies like these, is it surprising that on an average three debt ridden farmers commit suicide every single day,” Kishor Tiwari says, adding, “In 1961, when cotton sold for Rs350 a quintal, one could buy a tola (which was then 12 gm) of gold. Now, simply buying the monthly groceries for the house is not possible when prices stand at Rs3,500 a quintal.” (Incidentally, a tola of gold is now only 10gm and sells for a whopping Rs22,500.)

And yet, barely a month ago in Mumbai, while launching the social banking initiatives of Union Bank of India, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee told a gathering of bankers, “Financial inclusion is a key determinant of sustainable inclusive growth essential to building an equitable society and will help the rural hinterland with a growing India.”

Meanwhile, in that “rural hinterland,” only a miracle can ensure that Tadpalliwar gets his bullock cart up and running and yet have enough funds for seeds and fertiliser to ensure a bountiful crop. “One good paddy yield will pull me out of debt and solve our problems,” he says. If only the gods were listening...

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