Budget hopeless, fails to address deepening farm crisis: Haryana farmers

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, July 23

With the Assembly elections just three months away in the state, the farmers have termed the Union Budget as hopeless for the agriculture sector, saying it has yet again failed to address the issue of deepening crisis of agriculture sector and the corresponding anger of the farmers against the BJP which was evident during the Lok Sabha elections.

Satish Beniwal, a farmer from Adampur in Hisar district, said they had expected some special mention about the farmers in the Budget. But there has been nothing for the farmers. “It shows the arrogance of the ruling BJP that despite prolonged agitation for the past couple of years in the agriculture-dominating states of Haryana and Punjab, nothing has been announced,” he said.

Former Vice-Chancellor of Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University (HAU) Prof KS Khokhar expressed disappointment over the Budget, saying the allocation in Budget Estimates for agriculture and allied activities has been increased by Rs 25,000 crore over previous fiscal. “The enhancement is grossly inadequate

and will not address the needs of ailing farm sector, which supports 45 per cent of the population directly and 25 per cent indirectly,”

he said, adding the Budget would put farming on the back foot.

Prof Khokhar said putting in place a mission mode approach for pulses and oilseeds is appreciable but the real constraints remain non-procurement of crops at the MSP. “Announcements like ‘comprehensive focus on agricultural research, involvement of the private sector in research and laying stress on natural farming’ are lip service,” he said.

Allocation inadequate, subsidies curtailed

• Prof KS Khokhar, former vice-chancellor, HAU, has said the enhancement in Budget for the farm sector as compared to last year is inadequate and will not address the needs of ailing sector, which supports 45% of the population directly
• SKM leader Inderjit Singh has said the number of PM Kisan Samman Nidhi beneficiaries has come down to 10 crore from 14 crore when it was launched. Fertiliser subsidies have been curtailed and there is no effort to reduce the input costs