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Ref-Vidarbha Farm Crisis PRESS-NOTE Dated-26/04/2008
The Comptroller And Auditor General (CAG) Of India says -PM's Vidarbha Farmer Relief Package Flopped- VJAS demands C.B.I. Probe for Criminal Prosecution
1. PM's package for farmers to no avail
2. No Reduction In Suicides Since Package Announced
3. Moneylenders going scot-free
4. No compensation for farmers, banks falter
NAGPUR-April 26, 2008
The government has pumped in Rs 5,000 crore in the suicide belts of Vidarbha over the last two years. And yet, farmers continue to kill themselves. Now, a performance audit by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India explains why.A survey, covering 41,663 farmers in 383 villages of the six districts worst hit by cotton failures in Vidarbha, was part of the CAG audit of the farmers' packages announced by the state and Central governments in 2006. It found that 36 per cent of farmers were not even aware of the state and Central government packages.The audit slams the government for weak monitoring, delays in payments of compensation and lack of coordination in implementing the packages.The audit conducted between March and June 2007 highlights some glaring deficiencies. It is the first report evaluating implementation of the packages since they were announced two years back.The CAG report says that government directives for moneylenders to free farmers' lands were turned down by the High Court when moneylenders approached it. Neither did the government challenge the court ruling nor did it strengthen the existing laws in favour of the farmers.A door-to-door survey in 2006 by the state showed there were 13.48 lakh distressed and 4.34 lakh very distressed farmers in these six districts. But they were not considered when benefits were handed out.Short-term measures like helplines and rescheduling loans were ineffective for most farmers. The report also questioned long-term goals, like creating irrigation potential and subsidiary occupations for farmers.
(as reported by- HT-mumbai)
THE COMPTROLLER AND AUDITOR GENERAL (CAG) OF SURVEY REPORT ON FARM RELIEF PACKAGE
As per CAG report ,It is now official that all claims made by state administration as per as implementation of relief packages are concern were misleading and far away from the ground reality that's has killed more innocent distressed vidarbha farmers,here is details of CAG report officially released by maharashtra govt..
1. PM'S PACKAGE FOR FARMERS TO NO AVAIL
It is now official. Suicides by debt-ridden Vidarbha farmers have actually accelerated after Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the multi-crore relief package in 2006, with the state administration blamed for lack of co-ordination and a faulty implementation plan. A report titled "Performance Audit of Farmers Package'' by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India, has concluded that the package has failed in its basic purpose, that of reducing the agrarian crisis in the six affected districts ― Yavatmal, Amravati, Wardha, Akola, Buldhana and Washim ― covering 13.48 lakh farmers under distress and another 4.34 lakh categorised as maximum distressed. The CAG statistics reveal that the suicide graph has been on the rise. From 712 farmers in 2005-'06, to 1414 suicides in 2006-'07 the total suicide deaths reported from April-July 2007-'08 stood at 608. The report was tabled in the state legislature on Friday, hours before the seven-week budget session was prorogued
2. NO REDUCTION IN SUICIDES SINCE PACKAGE ANNOUNCED
"Reduction in farmers distress in Vidarbha does not inspire confidence,'' the report emphatically states, adding that unless corrective measures are taken, "the agrarian distress would start rising again in the closing years of the package. Such distress could increase significantly particularly after the moratorium of loan repayment expires," cautions Sunil Dadhe, the accountant general (audit) in his concluding remarks.
Dadhe has demolished the state government's claim that all's well after funds flow from the relief package. In fact the CAG team has asserted that there is no monitoring of the implementation of the packages. "Though the state created the Vasantrao Naik Sheti Swawalamban Mission (VNSSM) for monitoring of the implementation of the packages, it had no dedicated staff apart from its director general and a driver. Consequently, it failed to even watch the expenditure incurred by the implementing departments under various components,'' the report said. The auditors, who surveyed 363 villages covering 41,663 farmers, said the state failed to implement its announcements that farmers who took loans from unregistered moneylenders can treat themselves free from that loan. In fact, the CAG survey revealed that 75% of their respondents were unaware of this announcement in absence of adequate and effective publicity.
3. MONEYLENDERS GOING SCOT-FREE
The CAG report reveals that illegal money lenders have got relief from the courts after the assistant registrars of the cooperative societies (ARCS) declared the farmers free from debts. In 18 writ petitions filed by the money lenders the Nagpur bench of the Bombay high court passed orders setting aside the orders of the ARCS. "The government neither appealed against the orders (in the Supreme Court) nor took any remedial action like amendment of the relevant acts to secure the interests of the indebted farmers. Consequently the affected farmers did not get the intended benefit of the government decision of December 2005,'' it said.
4. NO COMPENSATION FOR FARMERS, BANKS FALTER
A scrutiny of the state government records in Amravati by the CAG has revealed that 224 eligible farmers were deprived of the compensation of Rs 2.14 lakh due to non-availability of funds, speaking volumes about the state administration's handling. of the issue. The report said that many banks claimed interest without extending fresh loans to the distressed farmers. Of the 17.64 lakh farmers in the six districts, 9.29 lakh cases of loan having outstanding principle amount of Rs 1,369 crore were proposed to be rescheduled after waiver of interests. However, fresh loans of Rs 673 crore (43% were given in 4.84 lakh cases. "The waiver of interest in all these cases did not help the families of the farmers concerned in income augmentation since loan was not rescheduled. Further the government waived interest on 1.92 lakh farm workers, though the packages did not envisage assistance to those who were not farmers,'' the report said.
(as reported by- TIMES NEWS NETWORK)
VJAS leader kishor tiwari urged UPA Govt. to order C.B.I. enquiry in this matter as issue of huge malpractices in more than Rs.5000 crore and all responsible
for failure of relief package has resulted more than 3000 farm suicides. In fact VJAS has demanding that due to total apathy of administration and causal attitude coupled with massive corruption has made this condition of rural Vidarbha so pathetic and agrrivated the agrarian crisis more fater relief package announcement as relief has not reached to dying farmers after lapse of two year. It is the need of the time to provide food security health care to minimum 4.34 lakh farm families who are identified by administration as farmers in deep distress, Tiwari added.
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Yours faithfully,
For VIDARBHA JANANDOLAN SAMITI
KISHORE TIWARI
PRESIDENT.
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