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Walkout in Rajasthan House over relief issue

Special Correspondent

Package for hailstorm-hit farmers inadequate: Opposition

JAIPUR: The members of the Congress and the Communist Party of India (Marxist) walked out of the Rajasthan Assembly on Friday in protest against the "inadequate" relief package for the hailstorm hit farmers in the State. "The package is much below our expectations. We were also not consulted," Leader of the Opposition Ramnarain Choudhary said prior to leading the MLAs out.

Two Congress MLAs had sat on an indefinite hunger strike in the House last week demanding announcement of a package for the victims of unseasonal rain and hailstorm in the months of February and March. The proceedings of the Assembly were stalled for four days over the issue.

"We share the grief of affected farmers. This is a farmers Government," Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje, who announced the package, affirmed. "No effort would be spared to compensate the losses. We are here always to help the farmers and the poor," she said. Ms.Raje ruled out the Congress demand for a package similar to that given to farmers in Haryana. "Haryana cannot be a model for us. That is too small a State and does not have droughts," she said.

The Rs.170-crore package promised a compensation of Rs.4000 for damage of crops in one hectare of irrigated land while in the case of land irrigated using diesel it would be Rs.6000 per hectare. Out of the total amount, Rs.100 crore would be the contribution of the State while the remaining is from the CRF (Calamity Relief Fund).

Ms.Raje also announced a waiver of four months electricity bills for the affected farmers. The Chief Minister put area under damage at 2.86 lakh hectares and the number of farmers affected at 3 lakhs. She resented the Opposition tone that they had forced the Government to offer a fresh package. "Farmers understand everything," she cautioned them.

Ms.Raje said the State had already spent Rs.33 crores for providing relief to the hailstorm hit while during the previous Congress regime only Rs.1.50 crore were spent on this count throughout its tenure. "Hailstorms have occurred in the State not for the first time," she noted taking a dig at the Congress. Her Government had been trying to get the CRF norms for compensation changed but to no avail.

"I met the Prime Minister in this regard. Wrote to him and the Union Agriculture Minister but so far there has been no response," Ms.Raje said. She appealed to the Congress MLAs to take up the issue with the Centre. "I didn't possess any magic wand to spirit away all the difficulties in three years time," she said while affirming that funds would not be a constraint when it came to helping farmers.

The Opposition members, who started shouting slogans soon after the announcement, said they had sought six months waiver of electricity bills. "The package is like `Oont ki muh mein jeera' (a pinch of jeera in the mouth of a camel)," said Mr.Choudhary.

He asked the Chief Minister to make a promise to review the package. Education Minister Ghanshyam Tiwari termed the walk out an effort to hide the past mistakes of the Congress regime. He hailed the package as "unprecedented".

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