Farmers’ anguish: Modi administration allows Lakh of crores rupees to lapse, discloses report
Shimla, Jan 26
The anguish of the farmers, who have after 2021 again taken to the roads through a motor- tractor rally on Republic day in Himachal Pradesh, is well explained by the revelation of a report released by the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare of the Modi government under the title “Account at a Glance” for the year 2022-2023. “The Modi government has been wreaking havoc on the farmers of the country in the last five years,” rue farmer leaders.
As per the account statement, in the last 5 years of the second tenure of the Modi government, an amount of 1,55,437.71 rupees lapsed or can be said remained unspent, thus evidently raising the agony of the farmers in the country.
The report shows that the government has not spent ₹21,437.5 crores of the ₹54,000 crores allocated for the Ministry of Agriculture in 2018-19.
In 2019-20, 34,517.7 rupees; in 2020-21, Rs 23,824.53; in 2021-22, Rs 5,152 crores; and in 2022-23, Rs 21,05 crores were not spent. This money was allocated in the budget for the welfare of farmers.
Besides, the Modi government has also not allocated any budget in 2023-24 for the goal of the green revolution in the northeastern states, which had been advertised as a major scheme, once and for which 6,747 crores of rupees were allocated in the year 2021-22.
In addition, the budget by a large amount has been reduced under the head of National Agricultural Development. It has been brought down from Rs 10,433 crores to Rs 7,150 crores. The budget of the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Irrigation Scheme has been reduced from Rs 12,954 crores in 2022-23 to Rs 10,787 crores in 2023-24.
Not only this, there is no increase in the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi since 2022-23. Its allocation is Rs 60,000 crores. If the claims of the 12 crore beneficiaries of the scheme are also accepted, then at least 72,000 crores should have been allocated. Even in the head of the Pradhan Mantri Fasal Bima Yojana, only Rs 13,625 crores have been kept in the budget for 2023-24 as compared to the budgetary estimate of Rs 15,500 crores for 2022-23.
The important market intervention and price support scheme for which 1,500 crores were allocated in 2022-23 did not find a place in the revised estimate of the budget for 2023-24. Even the 842 crores kept for agricultural research have also lapsed.
“Farmers’ organizations termed it a crime”
The All India Kisan Sabha and the Himachal Kisan Sabha have termed the lapse of such a large amount for farmers in five years as a heinous crime.
Apart from All India Kisan Sabha President Ashok Dhawale and General Secretary Viju Krishnan, Himachal Kisan Sabha President Kuldeep Singh Tanwar and General Secretary Hotam Saunkhla said that this act has exposed the insensitivity of the Narendra Modi-led BJP government towards the distressed farmers and its true intentions of handing over agriculture to corporates.
This 1 lakh crore rupees have been returned or lapsed when farmers are demanding money for agriculture, development of infrastructure, expansion of irrigation, ensuring remunerative prices through support prices, and research and extension. The Standing Committee on Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Food Processing has expressed concern that this kind of surrender of money under the head of agriculture will have a bad effect on the northeastern states, Scheduled Caste sub-plan, and Scheduled Tribe sub-plan.
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