Maharashtra lauds K`taka`s pro-farmer policies
The limitation of 5 HP free power is now extended. This pro-farmer policy is highly appreciated by farmers and their leaders in Maharashtra.
While welcoming the Karnataka government's policy the PWP leader and former minister of co-operation in Maharashtra government N D Patil has told Business Standard that the relief to farmers announced in the recent state budget is certainly welcome and should be appreciated in view of the persistent policy to consider farmers' plight and to provide relief.
Appealing the Maharashtra government to follow the Karnataka's pro-farmer policy Patil has commented that the Maharashtra is the only state in the country which has allotted lowest priority to agriculture in its water distribution policy.
In other states after priority of drinking water the next priority is for irrigation and agriculture while Maharshtra has been disproportionately lenient to industry rather than to agriculture.
Congress and NCP MLAs in southern Maharashtra have come on roads along with farmers for demand of total loan waiver for all farmers without any condition or criteria.
In a recent procession and farmers' rally, they have urged that state governments should take the responsibility for the total loan waiver if Union government is not considering the demand.
Congress MLA Satej Patil has expressed readiness to get the amount deducted from MLAs' salary and even from development quota of Rs one crore for each MLA, so that all farmers will be benefited from the total loan waiver.
The suggestion is likely to be followed by MLAs in other states in view of its significance as farmers are voters in most of the constituencies of MLAs and MPs.
It is also pointed out that according to the Union government's specific loan waiver scheme and the RBI's specific guideline, small farmer is defined as one who is cultivating land upto 2 hectares. This means the land under cultivation is to be calculated for deciding the small farmer and his eligibility of the total waiver.
For instance, a farmer having 2.45 hectares but cultivating only 1.85 hectares (because 60 R land is barren and uncultivable) is a small farmer and eligible for total loan waiver.
But bankers have considered total land holding as the criterion which is not to be considered while deciding the small farmer according to the scheme.
This lacuna in banks' manner of calculation is pointed out by a Kolhapur unit of the AKhil Bharatiya Grahak Panchayat (All India Consumers Organization) which has submitted statement to the concerned government departments with details of the correct calculation of land under cultivation and not the total land holding for deciding the eligibility of the total loan waiver.
It is also pointed out that the 7/12 documents submitted by farmers to the banks clearly indicate land under cultivation and barren and uncultivable land and hence it is easy to ascertain land under cultivation as the 7/12 documents are in banks' records.