Eight babus to make scheme on paddy diversification a success

Sushil Manav
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 22

Amidst lack of clarity among farmers, the Haryana Government has intensified efforts to make crop diversification scheme ‘Mera Pani Meri Virasat’ a success. The government wants to first diversify around 1 lakh hectare area, currently under paddy, to other crops such as maize, cotton, bajra or pulses under the scheme.

Cong protests curbs on cultivation

AICC communication in-charge Randeep Singh Surjewala criticised the BJP-JJP government in Haryana for imposing restrictions on paddy cultivation at a symbolic dharna in Shahabad on Friday morning. He was accompanied by former Shahabad MLA Anil Dhantori and other activists. “The BJP government is trying to destroy farmers and has also imposed a ban on cultivation of paddy on panchayati land. The decision will hit the rice industry too,” Surjewala said.

Sanjeev Kaushal, Additional Chief Secretary, Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, on Friday allotted the eight targeted blocks to five IAS officers and three director general-level officers for “supervision, information, education, communication and monitoring” of the scheme.

IAS officer A Sreenivas has been allotted Shabad block and J Ganesan Kurukshetra district. Maniram Sharma has been allotted Siwan block of Kaithal, Shakti Singh Sirsa block of Sirsa and Sanjeev Verma Ratia block of Fatehabad.

Among the non-IAS officers, Manoj Kumar Bansal, MD of HARCO Bank, has been allotted Pipli block of Kurukshetra, Dr Arjun Singh Saini, Director General, Horticulture, will look after Ismailabad block of Kurukshetra while BS Sehrawat, Mission Director of Mission for Integrated Development of Horticulture, will look after Guhla block of Kaithal.

“There are three components of the scheme. The first being about the above eight blocks where the water table has gone dropped 40 metres or more. Paddy is grown on 1,79,951 hectares in these blocks. Our target is to persuade farmers to diversify at least 50 per cent of this land. The second component is about 12 blocks where the water table has fallen beyond 35 metres. Here, sowing of paddy will not be allowed on panchayat land which is 7,200 hectare. The third component of the scheme is about paddy being grown in the rest of the state. The government will provide similar incentives to farmers there if they diversify to other crops,” said Kaushal.

The incentives for the of farmers include payment of Rs 7,000 per acre in lieu of diversification, free seeds, government procurement of alternate crop grown, 85 per cent subsidy for installation of drip irrigation and payment of Pradhan Mantri Fasal Beema Yojna premium by the government.

‘Mera Pani Meri Virasat’, though touted as optional, provides for not procuring paddy crop of farmers not opting for it. Farmers operating their tubewells with 50 hp motors will not be allowed to grow paddy at all.

Gurjeet Singh Mann, a progressive farmer from Kirpal Patti village of Sirsa, said the sudden announcement of “ban on cultivation of rice” has sent a chill down the spine of many farmers. “Firstly, the scheme was announced too late when cotton sowing season is already over. Secondly, the Rs 7,000 subsidy is not at all lucrative when compared to the higher income farmers get from paddy. The other crops being suggested are mostly unsuitable for areas where rice is grown traditionally, mainly because of agronomy and climate,” he said.

Mann said that in the light of the ongoing pandemic, farmers want ‘Mera Pani Meri Virasat’ postponed for at least a year and an increase in the incentive amount to Rs 21,000. The Opposition parties, Congress and the INLD, have already opposed the scheme and have termed it “anti-farmer”.