Badal blames Centre for 'pitiable' condition of farmers

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal today said the condition of farmers in the state was "pitiable", and blamed the "anti-farmer stance" of the Congress-led UPA government for their plight.
"Due to the wrong policies of the Union government the farmers of the state are reeling under a huge debt," he alleged.
"The exorbitant hike in the agriculture inputs, coupled with the non-remunerative MSP, have rendered agriculture as a non profitable venture," Badal said.
The chief minister said that the state government has taken path breaking initiatives to ensure the well being of every strata of the society.
Speaking in Theekriwala area of Sangrur district, the chief minister announced that benefits of 'Atta-Dal' scheme will also be extended to small and marginal farmers.

"From the now onwards, small and marginal farmers of the state will also get the benefit of Atta-Dal scheme," Badal said here.

Under the new Atta-Dal scheme, Punjab government has proposed to supply wheat and pulses at Rs 1 per kg and Rs 20 per kg respectively, to the beneficiaries.
The state government has recently approved inclusion of new 13.5 lakh beneficiary families under the scheme.
So far, 15.40 lakh families have been provided wheat and 'Dal' under subsidised scheme, he said.
Badal said the state government has started a number of pro-poor welfare schemes like Atta-Dal, Dr Hargobind Khurana scholarship, Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Bima and others to benefit the weaker and underprivileged sections of the society.