Tobacco Board to submit Rs 125 cr rehab plan soon

The Tobacco Board will submit a Rs 125 crore proposal to the Commerce Ministry in the next 10 days to rehabilitate farmers who would switch to other crops, as part of a move to meet India's commitment to the World Health Organisation.

"According to the proposal, an amount of Rs five lakh will be provided in three instalments to each of the 2,500 barns selected initially to shift to other crops," Tobacco Board Chairman J Suresh Babu told PTI.

Barn is a curing structure where tobacco leaves are processed to produce the FCV tobacco used mainly by cigarette manufacturers.

The Board's proposal for disbursing the package in three installments spread over three years came amid apprehension that farmers may resort to tobacco cultivation again after receiving the money in one go, he said.

A farmer will be kept under watch after receiving the first instalment. He would be mandated to stop tobacco farming to be eligible for the package, he added.

However, the board's proposal will first have to be approved by the Commerce Ministry before being sent to the Finance Ministry for funds, Babu said.

The proposal assumes significance due to the fact that India became a signatory to the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) in 2003, whereby it is mandated to reduce tobacco supply by 50 per cent within 10-15 years of signing the pact.

The Commerce Ministry had mandated the Tobacco Board to prepare a road map on shifting the farmers to alternaive crops and work out a rehabilitation formula for those whose livelihood depends upon such cultivation.

India has 96,865 registered tobacco farmers, mostly in Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka, and the board targets to shift at least 50,000 engaged in this farming by 2020.