Karnataka   

Budget has ignored crisis in agriculture sector: CPI(M)

Chitradurga: Describing the State Budget as eyewash, Communist Party of India (Marxist) State secretariat member Maruti Manpade said that it did not focus on addressing the agrarian crisis and would not prevent farmers from committing suicide.

Addressing presspersons here on Saturday, he said the growth rate of the farming sector in the State was on the wane.

It was 3.97 per cent in 1993, and had come down to -0.98 per cent now.

“The Chief Minister, in the budget, did not announce any steps to enhance the growth rate.”

On the announcement of free power for irrigation pumpsets, Mr. Manpade said farmers had not been paying electricity bills for the past 10 years.

The amount due from them had increased to over Rs. 850 crore. The free supply of power would not do much for them as they were already enjoying the benefit.

He said farmers had been demanding that the Government ensure disbursement of loans through financial institutions to all farmers, as this would prevent them from borrowing from moneylenders. Farmers were in distress as the Government did not announce a minimum support price for various farm products, including tomatoes.

Mr. Manpade said sugarcane farmers were also in dire need of help as they had not received good prices for their produce.

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