By Pervez Bari, TwoCircles.net
Bhopal: The Nagpur-based Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, (VJAS), has termed the announcement of Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar in Lok Sabha on Monday as an open invitation to million of dying Vidarbha cotton farmers to commit suicide.
Kishor Tiwari, president of VJAS, in press note today said that the earlier loan waiver scheme had failed to cover not more than 5 per cent debt-trapped distressed farmers whereas this loan waiver made in the General Budget 2008-09 (Rs. 600 billion farm loan waiver package) was announced to stop the ongoing farm suicides of Vidarbha region of Maharashtra state as more than 30,000 cotton farmers have already committed suicide since 1997.
Sharad Pawar in Lok Sabha said that the Central Government cannot take on new responsibilities of waiving farm loans until the announcements made in the General Budget 2008-09 regarding agricultural loan are implemented.
Pawar said, “We are not in a position to take new responsibilities till the present commitments, (referring to the Rs. 600 billion farmer loan waiver) are implemented.” He also made it clear that the government had no specific scheme to cover loans taken from money-lenders or deal with the issue of land-holdings more than those covered by the farm loan waiver package.
It may be mentioned here that Union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram had announced waiver of 500 billion rupees worth of loans granted to small and marginal farmers and a settlement scheme of 100 billion rupees for other farmers. Chidambaram had said that the scheme would be completed by June 30 this year.
VJAS has urged the UPA chairman Ms Sonia Gandhi to intervene in this matter as issue of providing credit and cost cover to dying cotton farmers are vital due to increase in higher subsidies and the ongoing farm suicides even after the announcement loan waiver.
Vidarbha rural economic crisis is due to instability in cost and hence price stabilization fund is needed along with complete loan waiver and regulated credit supply from state controlled banks is the need of hour, Tiwari added.
VJAS has been demanding to include Vidarbha region in NFSM (National Food Security Mission) and special outlay of RKVY (Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojana) alongwith a comprehensive policy for land rights to landless, marginal farmers and tribals cultivating barren land and raise the demand to allocate dedicated funds on the lines of AIBP for farm ponds, community tanks and give incentives to farmers / villages who/which harness water.
VJAS has urged Indian Prime Minister to arrange food security, health security and employment opportunities to dying west Vidarbha farmers as at the ground level minimum food, medicine, social system support is missing.
‘Total apathy of the administration has made this condition of rural Vidarbha pathetic. Due to non-serious attitude towards agrarian crisis the relief declared a year back has not reached the dying farmers even after lapse of one year.
It is the need of the time to provide food security health care to minimum 4.34 lakh farm families who are identified by administration as farmers in deep distress, Tiwari demanded. ([email protected])