GoM on frost breaks PM-Chouhan ice

The United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government has set up 40 groups of ministers (GoMs), many of them headed by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee. The 41st is set to follow. This time, it will be on frost — to decide if it is a natural calamity.

The trigger is huge losses suffered by farmers in Madhya Pradesh due to frost and cold.

The assurance that frost would be scrutinised from all angles was given to Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh last week. No time-frame has been given, though.

“Since frost is not considered a natural calamity, the GoM will try to look into the issue and find a way to compensate farmers who have lost their crops to severe cold. The chief minister will be a special invitee to the GoM,” Chouhan said in New Delhi.

Chouhan started a hunger strike in Bhopal earlier this month to demand compensation for the affected farmers. He gave up after the prime minister said the government would look into the issue and invited him to New Delhi for a discussion, besides a meeting with the Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia.

The Union government has so far granted only Rs 425 crore compensation for the farmers. Soon after receiving the amount, Chouhan — demanding Rs 2,442 crore — went on a hunger strike.

The state government says over 20 farmers have committed suicide after lentil, wheat, mustard and gram crops in five districts were damaged by severe cold. The state government says crops over 35 lakh hectares have been destroyed.

So, clearly frost is contributing to the warmth in Centre-state ties.