Badal seeks Rs 2380 crore package for farmers

Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal on Thursday has demanded Rs 2380 cr package from the Centre for state farmers  reeling under monsoon failures.

The demand has been raised by the state government in a memorandum to the Prime Minister. Badal is likely to meet Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh shortly in this regard.

Badal pointed out that there has been crippling 65% deficit in  monsoon up to July 25 this year  and it had  dealt a crushing blow to the peasantry in Punjab.

He  said  the treatment meted out to the leading agricultural state of the country had been shocking. "We have been  seeking a comprehensive economic package to save the nation’s savior. Unfortunately, even the financial packages announced for farmers in the country have by-passed the country’s leading agricultural state. All this has virtually broken the back of agriculture and agriculturists in the state,” said the Chief Minister.

He pointed out that due to rainfall deficit, the farmers would have to incur an additional expenditure for sustaining the paddy crop transplanted in about 27.80 lakh hectares and other Kharif crops like cotton and maize etc. by using diesel to run pump sets.

“The total extra expenditure  to be incurred on this account would be approximately Rs.550 crore. Further, an additional expenditure of Rs.300 crore was likely to be incurred by the farmers for replacement of mono-block pump set operated tube-wells to submersible pump set operated deep tube-wells,” Badal.

A cumulative extra burden of Rs.850 crore is to be borne by the state farmers to save their crops.  Apart from this, the Punjab State Power Corporation Limited would  incur an additional expenditure of Rs.1530 crore by diverting power from other sectors as well as purchasing power at a higher price.  Thus, additional cost on all these accounts will be Rs.2380 crore.