Opinion - Letters to the Editor   

Indictment

The Maharashtra government should feel ashamed at the Comptroller and Auditor General’s startling revelation that farm suicides have continued unabated despite the so-called farm packages (“Of loan waivers and tax waivers,” May 19).

The CAG report should act as an eye-opener to all the State governments and the Centre on the efficacy of populist loan-waiver schemes that ignore ground realities. But whether CAG reports can move our governments — politicians and bureaucrats — is another question.

B. Harish,

Mangalore

The CAG report has exposed the stark indifference of the Centre and the State government towards farmers. The languorous implementation of packages worth Rs.4825 crore has resulted in no benefits for the most distressed farmers, thanks to the faulty selection of beneficiaries, lack of monitoring and other intermediate failures.

It is indeed sad that while the most needy are bereft of aid, the government has the audacity to waive entertainment tax for events such as the IPL, brought about partly due to the failure of the visual and electronic media to focus on the real issues confronting the country.

P. Sudeep Nettur,

Bangalore

Injustice continues to be meted out to farmers while the millionaires and billionaires get undue favours from the state. When the UPA government cannot extend the farm loan waiver to farmers holding more than two hectares of land, is it not shameful and disgraceful that the Maharashtra government should waive the entertainment tax for IPL cricket matches, the sponsors of which own property worth millions of hectares?

Thanks for the tax waiver are due to the influence of the corporate sector in the government, which farmers lack.

J.P. Reddy,

Nalgonda

The double standards of our politicians and the strong lobbying that must have led to the waiver of entertainment tax for IPL matches stand exposed. The State government’s move amounts to saying ‘when the farmer doesn’t have food to eat, let him entertain himself by watching cheerleaders and cricket.’ This is the State that criticised the attire of cheerleaders as being un-Indian and constituting a threat to our culture. Now, this is hypocrisy at its worst.

V. Harine,

Chennai

The article brings out the preferential policies of the government. While the conditions of the poor have worsened, the rich have been nourished by policies of incentives and waivers and have become richer.

It is strange that the tax breaks given to the rich are called ‘waivers’ whereas the government support to the poorest sections for sustaining their livelihood is termed as ‘bonanza’ in our country. The article’s analysis of the proposed tax waiver for IPL matches and the distress of farmers in the same part of the country exposes the opportunist and ill-conceived preferences of the ruling elite.

N. Sekar,

Salem

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