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Ajay Joshi
Tribune News Service
Jalandhar, February 2
Terming the Interim Budget ‘unfavourable’, farmers from the region, while addressing a press meet here today, claimed that the government had yet again mocked the distressing farmers by announcing a direct income support of Rs 6,000 per year.
Farmers, who had assembled under the banner of Bharti Kisan Union, Kadian, said marginal farmers having land up to two acres would earn only Rs 500 monthly and Rs 17 daily through the income support. However, their yearly crop maintenance expenditure (including Rs 11,000 on pesticides, Rs 1,980 GST charges and extra taxes of Rs 3,000 levied on diesel) was alone double this meagre income support.
Moreover, the farmers rued that that there was no mention of granting funds for health care and education of wards of farmers.
Harmeet Singh Kadian, president of the union, said the Budget had disappointed the farmer community. Even after being a complete failure in waving off loans of the farmers during these five years, there was no mention of loan waiver in the Budget. The Fasal Bima Yozna also flopped as the government failed to provide its benefits to the farmers even after acquiring crores of rupees under the scheme. Crop insurance policies have also turned a failure. Harmeet Singh said due to the absence of export policies, farm produces were rotting in the cold storage.
The supply of sugarcane, potatoes and onions to Pakistan and Basmati rice to Arab countries has been restricted for the past few years, causing tremendous loss to the farmers. Hence, the government should work towards implementing effective export policies, as the buffer stock of the country was already adequate.
Secretary of the union Jagdev Singh Kaniawali said instead of procuring farm produces in government- operated Punjab Agro and Markfed agencies, the state government was inclined towards privatisation of the agriculture sector which would again go against farmers’ earnings.
He also demanded that blank cheques received by banks should also be returned to the them as the already debt-ridden farmers was forced to clear their debts from the banks. Many farmers and their wards had also been booked under Section 420 and were put behind the bars at the Muktsar jail. Citing an example of a farmer from Nakodar, the secretary said the government even failed to return his investment of Rs 10 lakh on the sugarcane production for the past one year and now, he was facing threats from moneylenders.
“Forget about implementing the Swaminathan Report in the state, the government could not even curb the sale of synthetic milk, which is not only affecting the health of residents but also the economy,” said the president, who asked the Supreme Court to frame a strict law on manifestos made by political parties, as none of the promises were fulfilled by the government after coming to power.
Revealing their next move, the president of the Bharti kisan Union said on February 27, thousands of farmers under the union would hold a protest march at the residence of Chief Minster Captain Amarinder Singh.
Protest march on Feb 27
Harmeet Singh Kadian, president of the Bharti Kisan Union, asked the SC to frame a strict law on manifestos made by political parties, as none of the promises were fulfilled by the government after coming to power. Talking about the next move, he said on February 27, thousands of farmers would hold a protest march at the residence of the Chief Minster.