Badal acknowledges crisis in Punjab agriculture, seeks center’s intervention

KERA(Mukatsar Sahib) : Under attack from opposition for rising number of suicide cases in the state, Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today for the first time accepted publically that that there is an agranian crisis in Punjab and sought immediate intervention of center governmen to resolve the issue. So far he was denying suicides by debt ridden farmers and blamed opposition parties for painting distorted picture. About 50 farmers have committed suicides in first quarter of 2016.
Addressing media persons here after his sangat darshan programme here Badal squarely blamed the successive Congress governments at Centre for its anti-farmer policies forcing the beleaguered farmers to end their lives thus demanded immediate intervention of Government of India to constitute a high level committee of agriculture experts so as to pull the economically strained economy from the current agrarian crisis. He however refrained from commenting on the role of BJP led NDA government at center in which SAD is also partner.
Chief Minister while replying to a query about farm suicides said that state government had hardly any role in fixing the costs of agriculture inputs like diesel, pesticides, fertilizers and even the Minimum Support Price (MSP), which primarily fell within the domain of the Centre. He said that Congress ruled governments at Center for over six decades have absolutely ignored the hardships faced by the farmers.
Badal said that the state government was in constant touch with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi to resolve the farm crisis adding he said ever widening gulf between the income and the costs incurred by the farmers on agriculture inputs due to faulty policies of Centre had made agriculture a non-profitable profession, which led the hapless farmers to commit suicides. The Chief Minister mentioned that the state government had initiated certain steps to put the derailed agrarian economy on track by way of giving subsidy to the tune of Rs.5000 crore annually to PSPCL in lieu of free power in the farm sector and enhancing the natural calamity fund from Rs.3400 to Rs. 8000 per acre.
Badal said that the state government has started first of its kind scheme to provide interests free crop loans worth Rs 50,000 to the farmers. He further said that in another historic decision it has been decided that all the farmers would be provided a health insurance cover of Rs.50,000 and an insurance of Rs.5 lac in case of accidental death or incapacitation of head of family.
Describing the ‘Punjab Dialogue’ program started by Aam Adami Party as a flop show, the Chief Minister said that the AAP Chief Mr. Arvind Kejriwal was least concerned about the rights of Punjab, which was evident from the fact of submitting an affidavit in the Supreme Court by the Delhi government regarding the river waters. Mr. Kejriwal cited the reason of disintegration of country on the stand taken by the Punjab government over SYL issue and termed it as unconstitutional in this affidavit filed in the Apex Court. He said Mr. Arvind Kejriwal belonged to Haryana and his infatuation and affection with his state was all the more natural. The Chief Minister pointed out that the people of Punjab were well aware about Kejriwal’s stand and thus they have turned back to his program ‘Punjab Dialogue’, which was now gradually losing its sheen. Highlighting the role of Congress leadership in divesting Punjab of its river waters, the Chief Minister said that the then Congress governments in state left no stone unturned especially the present Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee President Capt. Amarinder Singh, who played a frontal role along with the Late Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi for the construction of SYL way back in 1982. Mr. Badal said that Akali Dal launched an agitation (Morcha) at that time to oppose the construction of SYL and similar situation was erupting now and we should be fully prepared to make any supreme sacrifice to defend our precious river waters.