Haryana: Experts, farm activists differ on budgetary provisions

Deepender Deswal

Hisar, February 23

Terming the state’s 8.1% growth in the agriculture sector ‘exceptionally good’, experts today stressed the need for diversification of crops, post-harvesting management system and infrastructure such as cold storage and food processing industry in the state.

Farmer-friendly

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The CM has presented a farmer-friendly Budget. Many agricultural challenges such as salinity, waterlogging and crop diversification have been addressed by allocating sufficient funds. Prof BR Kamboj, Vice-chancellor, CCSHAU

Hopeless ritual

It is hopeless annual ritual. The CM’s utterances that he feels the farmers’ pain doesn’t match the conduct of the government as repressive measures are being taken to crush the voice of the farmers. Inderjit Singh, All-India Kisan Sabha

The farmer activists, however, said the Budget seemed to be a ‘hopeless ritual’ as far as the agriculture sector was concerned as the Chief Minister kept mum on the issues of farmers, which has led to agitation.

Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar proposed the allocation of Rs 7570.77 crore for the agriculture and allied sectors and cooperation for the next fiscal (2024-25) in the Budget, an increase of 38.9% over the Revised Estimates of the current year.

Prof BR Kamboj, Vice-Chancellor, Chaudhary Charan Singh Haryana Agricultural University, said, “The CM has presented a farmer-friendly Budget. Many agricultural challenges such as salinity, waterlogging and crop diversification have been addressed by allocating sufficient funds. The use of latest technologies such as robotics, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and drones in agriculture will increase the efficiency of farm inputs,” he said adding the focus of the Budget has been on reducing the cost and increasing the income of the farming community.

Inderjit Singh of the All-India Kisan Sabha described the Budget as “hopeless annual ritual of the BJP-led state government”. He said the CM’s utterances in the Assembly during the Budget speech that “he feels the pain of a farmer” didn’t match the conduct of the Haryana Government as repressive measures were being taken to crush the voice of the farmers.

The CM said they provided compensation of Rs 297.5 crore to farmers for crop damage due to natural calamities, but he said it was inadequate.