Farmers on mind, Punjab FM lines up welfare schemes

Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, March 8

Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal has dedicated his Budget to the farmers, pointing out the “rigidity of the Union Government in passing three farm laws”.

He went full throttle in announcing a plethora of schemes for uplifting agriculture sector, which is the mainstay of Punjab’s economy.

Key announcements

• Scheme to fix base price for potato and kinnow; deficiency price to be paid as compensation to mitigate the loss of producers
• Under ‘Kamyaab Kisan, Khushaal Punjab’, Rs3,780 crore will be spent in the next three years; Rs1,104 cr has been allocated for 2021-22

Relief from Debt

The government will be waiving loans to the extent of Rs1,186 crore of 1.13 lakh farmers and Rs526 crore of landless farm workers in the next phase during 2021-22 for which necessary allocation of Rs1,712 crore has been proposed

A sum of Rs 17,051 crore has been set aside for the welfare of farmers, which includes money for free power to farmers (Rs 7,180 crore); crop loan waiver of farmers and landless labourers (Rs 1,712 crore); upgrade of link canals and repair and maintenance of other canals (Rs 1,039 crore), crop diversification (Rs 200 crore), crop residue management (Rs 40 crore), et al.

The most important feature of the Budget is a scheme of fixing base price for potato and kinnow and payment of deficiency price as compensation to mitigate the loss of producers. “This will help in our crop diversification plan as the producers will feel economically assured,” said Badal. A sum of Rs 200 crore has been set aside for crop diversification.

A new umbrella programme — Kamyaab Kisan, Khushaal Punjab — has been launched. Under this scheme, Rs 3,780 crore will be spent in the next three years and Rs 1,104 crore has been allocated for 2021-22.