The Hindu : Front Page : Pawar to accompany Prime Minister to Vidarbha

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Thursday, Jun 29, 2006

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Pawar to accompany Prime Minister to Vidarbha

Gargi Parsai

A new rehabilitation package for distressed farmers in suicide-prone districts being finalised

Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar

NEW DELHI: After initial reluctance, Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar on Wednesday announced that he would accompany Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to the suicide-affected districts in Vidarbha in Maharashtra. The Prime Minister is likely to announce a rehabilitation package for distressed farmers in 31 districts of Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Kerala during his tour. The package is being finalised.

"I was requested by the Prime Minister to joinhim in Vidarbha. I am going," Mr. Pawar said. On Tuesday he had said that his party colleague Praful Patel would go as he is from Vidarbha. Mr. Pawar would now be with the Prime Minister on both the days of the tour this coming Friday and Saturday.

Sources indicated that Mr. Pawar was reluctant to go as there were indications that this was going to be a Congress party affair.

He was also upset at "leaks" from the Prime Minister's Office about the Prime Minister being cut up about the delay in the decision to import wheat and in addressing the issue of farmers' suicides.

Tension has been simmering between the Congress and Mr. Pawar's Nationalist Congress Party in Maharashtra over the recent Rajya Sabha and Legislative Council elections when the two coalition partners had differed.

Speaking to media persons after chairing an inter-ministerial meeting to give final touches to the rehabilitation package, Mr. Pawar said he had convened a meeting of the Chief Ministers of the four suicide-prone States in Hyderabad in April. "The Ministry had worked out a rehabilitation package in April after incorporating into it the suggestions of the Chief Ministers and Agriculture Ministers who went into the details of the reasons for farmers' suicides in the four States."

The reasons identified were uncertainty of monsoon, credit and default in payments, private lending system and low quality seeds.

"It was observed that in certain districts the situation was worse yet there were no suicides. The reason for that was supplementary income through dairying, etc."

The thrust of the rehabilitation package that is being worked out, therefore, was to improve infrastructure, long-term irrigation projects and provide monetary support for basic schemes to supplement income in case of a failed monsoon. Vidarbha is a drought-prone area. At the centre of the package would be institutional credit coverage to farmers and loan rescheduling and waiver on interest payments.

There would be higher subsidy for seed replacement and drip and sprinkler irrigation projects.

Sources indicated that the Ministry may not get the Finance Ministry's nod for the proposed Modified National Crop Insurance Scheme providing coverage to farmers, crop and livestock and subsidised dairying and fisheries as these do not have Cabinet approval yet. Assistance, therefore, is likely to be provided only for existing schemes, unless the Prime Minister intervenes.

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