Maharashtra seeks another relief package for Vidarbha
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COMMENTS 
The Maharashtra government approaches the Centre for a second prime minister’s relief package of Rs 7,200 crore for farmers in suicide-affected Vidarbha
Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who last week launched a Rs 593 crore coordinated agriculture development project, the first public-private venture of its kind in the crisis-hit Vidarbha region, is understood to have asked for a second prime minister’s package for the region during his discussions with the Planning Commission vice-chairman on the state’s annual plan for 2010-11, on April 29, 2010.
Speaking after inaugurating the Rs 593 crore project for six districts in Vidarbha, the chief minister said he would request the prime minister for additional funds to implement farmer welfare schemes. Chavan is reported to have sought a package of Rs 7,200 crore, but was told to get an independent review of implementation of the first Rs 3,750-crore package.
“They picked some holes in implementation of the package and we tried to convince them on the issue,” a senior state bureaucrat said. “They seemed convinced, but have asked for a third-party review. It will be done accordingly.”
The state government is now looking for an independent agency to evaluate implementation of the prime minister’s relief package announced in June 2006 for six suicide-prone areas -- Akola, Amravati, Washim, Wardha, Buldhana and Yevatmal.
The package was to be implemented over three years in these districts and included an interest waiver on farmers’ loans and rescheduling of debts, besides creating supplementary income sources in villages for distressed families.
The latest Rs 593 crore coordinated agriculture development project is aimed at boosting the income of farmers to stop them from committing suicide. “I want farmer suicides to stop completely,” Chavan said at the inauguration in Amravati. “The number of suicides came down last year, but that is not enough. There should be no suicides.”
The project, backed by the International Fund for Agriculture Development (IFAD) and both state and central governments, is the brainchild of Sudhir Goel, secretary to the Department of Cooperation. Conceived last year, it aims to boost farmers’ capacity in production and marketing, thereby augmenting income.
IFAD will contribute 33.8%, in the form of soft loans. The Sir Ratan Tata Trust, Mumbai, will bear 13.5% of the project cost; the private sector and banks will pitch in with 21% funding. The remaining 31.7% will be shared by the state and the Centre.
Earlier this week, Amravati Divisional Commissioner Dinesh Waghmare ordered a re-survey of the number of farmer suicides in the area. He has asked district collectors to review all cases anew to ensure that no eligible case had been denied compensation of Rs 1 lakh.
The number of families eligible for compensation has come down drastically in the past four years. Of the 1,658 farmers who committed suicide in 2006, only 672 were declared ‘eligible’, meaning that according to government surveys they had committed suicide owing to the agrarian crisis, and, most importantly, debt. There were 1,404 suicides in 2007, but only 294 were found to be ‘eligible’.
In 2008, 347 of 1,356 suicides, and in 2009, 274 of 1,156 suicides were termed ‘eligible’. Waghmare’s order implies looking into every case discarded as ‘ineligible’. There will be a committee in each district, headed by the respective collector, to look into the cases.
Source: The Indian Express, May 10, 2010
DNA, May 10, 2010
PTI, May 5, 2010