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Congress to lead farmers’ team for meeting with Sonia

JAIPUR: Even as the Congress is battling the BJP Government within the State Assembly and outside over the “inadequate” relief package for farmers affected by the frost and extreme cold conditions in Rajasthan, the party is leading a large group of the victims this Thursday to meet Congress president Sonia Gandhi in New Delhi. The party’s strategy seemingly is to extract some concrete announcements from the Centre in favour of the farmers in general and the frost-hit in particular.

“We will ask the party president to recommend for a change in the norms for compensation under the Calamity Relief Fund so that crop damages due to frost and extreme cold are covered,” said Chandra Bhan, vice-president of the Rajasthan Pradesh Congress Committee, talking to journalists here on Tuesday.

“The damage to rabi crops in Rajasthan has been extensive. The package of Rs.126 crore from the State Government is peanuts,” he said.

“The State Government is playing politics with the farmers’ plight. It is talking in a bureaucratic language,” said Dr. Bhan pointing out that the conditions for eligibility would keep out most of the affected farmers from receiving any relief. “The package leaves out the so-called big farmers though after the Land Ceiling Act there are no more big farmers in the State.” Dr. Bhan, a former Energy Minister, said that out of the seven lakh farm connections in the State, only 1.25 lakh were of small and marginal farmers. “The package has offered to waive electricity bills of the affected small and marginal farmers for four months though it should have been at least six months bills and also for all categories of farmers,” he said. “When it comes to losses in a natural calamity, why discriminate among categories of farmers?” he asked.

Citing the previous year’s Rs.100 crore relief package offered by the State Government to farmers affected by hailstorm, Dr. Bhan said due to conditions laid out by the Govt, only Rs.14 crore of the amount announced could reach the affected. The farmers will also discuss with Ms. Gandhi the implementation of the NREGS and the utilisation of Central funds in the development programmes.

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