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LATEST NEWS UPDATES | Agriculture sector bleeds, thanks to flawed government plans -Iftikhar Gilani

Agriculture sector bleeds, thanks to flawed government plans -Iftikhar Gilani

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published Published on May 13, 2015   modified Modified on May 13, 2015
-DNA India

Constant decrease in investment on research and development blamed for carelessly conceived schemes

A fishing project in the deserts of Rajasthan, cold storage facilities for bananas in Maharashtra's no-banana Pune district, milk coolers in Gujarat's Sagbara region where there is no milk production and no electricity either… Those are just some of the examples of carelessly conceived government schemes to bolster farm growth at a time share of the agriculture sector in India's GDP has plunged from 30 percent in 1990-91 to just 14.5 percent in 2011.

This alarming state of affairs is so because of the constant decrease in investment on research and development (R&D). However, the response to the crisis has been a slew of ill-designed, expensive schemes that reflect the sharp disconnect between white collared planners stationed in Delhi and state capitals and India's farmers, an audit report reveals.

Instead of helping farmers, the many government schemes are actually resulting in crores of rupees intended to boost agricultural growth being wasted. A hefty sum of Rs.30,873 crore has been released under the Rashtriya Krishi Vikas Yojna (RKVJ) from 2007-08 to 2012-13 on 7,557 projects, many of which don't address the needs of farmers and point to a callous lack of attention towards a sector that is the mainstay of the Indian economy.

Overall, there was lack of detailed planning and projects taken up without consideration of local factors. Goa, Haryana, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, Odisha, Tripura and Uttar Pradesh spent Rs. 64.60 crore on purchasing vehicles and items such as furniture and stationery not related to agriculture.

The physical verification of some 600 projects sanctioned under the RKVJ by an audit team found under-performance in 393 projects and irregularities in 150, documents indicate. This is not confined to one state or two or even through. Evidence of the short-sighted approach to a critical sector is seen across India.

It would be comical were it not so tragic. Amongst the creatively crafted projects that bore no relation to the ground reality were:

— A fish seed rearing area was sanctioned in Udaipur district in 2007-08. The audit found ponds abundant with fish on paper but the state government in a reply stated that the ponds were dry due to scanty rainfall and depleting ground water.

— In Maharashtra pre-cooling, ripening and cold storage facilities for banana were set up at Indapur in Pune district at a cost of Rs.4.26 crore in 2010-11. After some years, planners realised that the project was unviable as it was not a banana cultivating area. The proposed pack houses at Akluj and Walchandnagar were also far away from Indapur.

— Also in Maharashtra, a mulberry project was sanctioned for 600 acres. But, by 2014, just 274 acres were covered. On investigation, it was found that local farmers were not taken into confidence. They found cash crops a more attractive option as the cultivation of mulberry involves heavy labour charges.

— In Andhra Pradesh, 150 rice combine harvesters were purchased by paying a subsidy of Rs.15 crore to Rythua Mitra Groups. The audit observed the machines didn't function properly, even for two hours, in the field and there were frequent breakdowns. "No benefit was derived from the machine and it became a financial burden to the farmer," says the audit report. In the same state, a project was designed in 2011 to intensify mechanisation of agriculture that included distribution of harvesters, transplanters, nursery machines, threshers and power weeders. But there were hardly any takers. In its reply, the state government said the scheme failed due to high cost of machinery.

— In Jammu and Kashmir, 17 plants of organic farming bio-fertilisers sanctioned in 2011 were found to be non-functional, five were partly functional and one existed only on paper. One other unit, which was functional some years ago, had been dismantled by the beneficiary and the material was used for the construction of cowshed.

— In Karnataka, farm ponds constructed in five districts under minor irrigation schemes were found to full of silt, waste and filth. In the same state, an integrated pest management project was sanctioned at a cost of Rs.2.53 crore. But the money was used for the construction of buildings and a hostel for officers and purchase of lab equipment.

— In Madhya Pradesh, a project of establishing cold chains was sanctioned to preserve potency of vaccines in 2010-11. But no amount was released for sanctioning deep freezer refrigerated vans. The vaccines could not be transported to the cold chains, thus defeating the objective of the project.

— In Sikkim a high-tech greenhouse at Bermock has been waiting since 2009-10 for an electricity connection to get operational. The plant is working partly with the help of a diesel generator. Against a target of producing 50,000 orange seedlings, it manages only 12,328.

– In Uttar Pradesh, seeds worth Rs. 61.43 crore were supplied after the sowing season was over.

DNA India, 12 May, 2015, http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-govternment-s-flawed-plans-bleed-agriculture-sector-2085030


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