‘Vidarbha Farmers burnt effigy of Sharad Pawar’

Rejection of Cotton Price Rise Demand- ‘Vidarbha Farmers burnt effigy of Sharad Pawar’

Rejection of Cotton Price Rise Demand-

‘Vidarbha Farmers burnt effigy of Sharad Pawar’

kolzari-Yavatmal dated-29th November 2010

Sharad Pawar rejection of Maharashtra State Co-Operative Cotton Marketing Federation demand of raising cotton procurement price from Rs.3000 MSP to Rs.4200 per quintal has received very violent reaction mark by the protest all over vidarbha and VJAS activist has burnt the effigy of Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar today protesting her announcement the demand of cotton price rise is baseless and central will not consider it.

Maharashtra State Co-Operative Cotton Marketing Federation silver jubilee function on November 28 in Mumbai amidst mounting losses and prospects of a lower cotton production of the produce this year in the state has left dying 3 million vidarbha cotton farmers most dejected when Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar has rejected the demand made by Dr.N.P.Hirani chairman , Maharashtra State Co-Operative Cotton Marketing Federation that this year in Maharashtra record 42 lacs hector cotton has been lost due to wet drought and cotton cultivation cost has been double hence central Govt. to raise minimum support rice (MSP) to Rs.4,200 quintal from today’s Rs.3000/- per quintal which unchanged by CACP since 2007,Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Janndolan Samiti informed today .

“Sharad Pawar rejection to the chapter of demands of Maharashtra State Co-Operative Cotton Marketing Federation will certainly add fuel to farm suicide spiral which has claimec more than 8000 farmers since 2005 more over in last 48 hours seven more vidarbha farmers suicide have been reported and victims are identified as

1.Arun Mahurle of Chikhalgoan in Chandrapur

2.Hemant Padole of Of Borgoan inwardha

3.Yuvraj Pudakkare of Virali in Bhandara

4.Vijay Wankhede of Borgoan(Manju) in Akola

5.Sudhir Sable of Anakwadi in Amaravati

6.Zhaganlalan Rahgandale of Padulkoma iIn Gondia

7.Subhash Adhav of Uti in Yavatmal

Taking tally 688 in the year 2010 ,informed Kishor Tiwari of VJAS today

“Distressed and dying farmers needs food security ,health facility to critically ill members of distressed farming community and provision for direct financial assistance to daughter marriage along with free fodder and potable water but till date only promises are given ,not relief resulting these farmers suicides” alleged Kishore Tiwari of VJAS.

‘we are expecting central intervention to stop this mass genocide of innocent farmers who are victims of wrong policies promoted by state as in dry land area rain sensitive crop like Bt.cotton is being cultivated in more than 95% causing huge financial losses to the cotton farmers and water crisis in the area. We have demanding the ban on rain sensitive crop in this region and promotion of food crop in all rain fed area of vidarbha since 2004 but nobody is giving any attention to this serious demand resulting more and more farm suicides in the region’ Tiwari added,

"Only a price of 4,500 can help cotton growers tide over the difficult situation caused by excessive rains, we will ask all parties to help cotton growers of India,” VJAS stressed in press release today.

Pl arrange to publish this press note

KISHOR TIWARI

President

Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti

पणन महासंघाचा रौप्य महोत्सव साजरा करणेम्हणजे शेतकऱ्यांच्या जखमेवर मीठ चोळणे विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीची टीका-लोकसत्ता

पणन महासंघाचा रौप्य महोत्सव साजरा करणेम्हणजे शेतकऱ्यांच्या जखमेवर मीठ चोळणे
विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीची टीका-लोकसत्ता

मुख्यमंत्री चव्हाण व कृषी मंत्री शरद पवार यांच्या उपस्थितीत आज मुंबईत रौप्य महोत्सव
http://loksatta.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=117817:2010-11-27-18-07-43&catid=45:2009-07-15-04-01-33&Itemid=56
नागपूर, २७ नोव्हेंबर/प्रतिनिधी
ज्या पणन महासंघाने भ्रष्टाचाराचा कळस गाठून महाराष्ट्र सरकारला ५ हजार कोटीचा चुना लावला व कापसाचा अग्रिम बोनस बंद करुन शेतकऱ्यांच्या आत्महत्येला वाट मोकळी केली, त्या पणन महासंघाने रौप्य महोत्सव साजरा करणे म्हणजे ३० लाख नैराश्यग्रस्त व कर्जबाजारी शेतकऱ्यांच्या जखमेवर मीठ चोळणे होय, अशी प्रतिक्रिया विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीचे नेते किशोर तिवारी यांनी व्यक्त केली आहे. शेतकऱ्यांना वाऱ्यावर सोडून या पणन महासंघाने यावर्षी एकही किलो कापूस घेतला नाही व त्या पणन महासंघाचा प्रशासकीय कारभार व इतर कामासाठी कोटय़वधीचा खर्च होत असताना जर पणन महासंघ कापूस उत्पादक शेतकऱ्यांना न्याय देत नसेल, तर या रौप्य महोत्सवी वर्षांतच या पणन महासंघाचे विसर्जन करावे, अशी मागणीही त्यांनी केली.
कापूस उत्पादक शेतकऱ्यांच्या प्रगतीसाठी व कापसाच्या बोंडापासून कापड तयार करण्याच्या प्रक्रियेपर्यंत शेतकऱ्यांच्या मालकीची संस्था तयार करण्याच्या उद्देशाने सरकारने कापूस एकाधिकार योजनेमध्ये निर्माण केलेल्या महाराष्ट्र राज्य कापूस उत्पादक पणन महासंघाच्या स्थापनेचा रौप्य महोत्सवी सोहोळा उद्या, २८ नोव्हेंबरला मुख्यमंत्री पृथ्वीराज चव्हाण व कृषीमंत्री शरद पवार यांच्या उपस्थितीत साजरा होत आहे, हे विशेष.
पणन महासंघाचा रौप्य महोत्सव साजरा करताना आघाडी सरकारने कापसाला ४ हजार ५०० रूपये प्रति क्विंटल भाव द्यावा, अशी मागणीही त्यांनी केली आहे. एकीकडे खासगी व्यापारी दररोज कापसाचे भाव पाडत आहेत आणि त्यावरही समाधान झाले नाही तर काटय़ामध्ये कमी वजन दाखवून खुलेआम शेतकऱ्यांची लूट करत आहेत. जगात कापसाला ५ हजार रुपये प्रति क्विंटल भाव असताना मुख्यमंत्री पृथ्वीराज चव्हाण व कृषीमंत्री शरद पवार याविषयी का बोलत नाहीत, असा सवालही समितीने केला आहे. ज्या पणन महासंघाने केंद्र सरकारला कापसाचा हमी भाव ४ हजार रूपये प्रति क्विंटल व्हावा, अशी मागणी केली आहे, त्या पणन महासंघाला विशेष निधी देऊन ४ हजार रूपये प्रति क्विंटल दराने कापसाच्या खरेदीची सुरुवात का केली जात नाही, असेही समितीने सरकारला विचारले आहे.
महाराष्ट्रात पणन महासंघाचा रौप्य महोत्सव समारंभ व १ डिसेंबरला नागपुरात सुरू होणारे अधिवेशन याचे निमित्त साधून महाराष्ट्र सरकारने ओल्या दुष्काळग्रस्त शेतकऱ्यांना प्रति एकरी १० हजार रूपये मदत व पणन महासंघाद्वारे कापसाची खरेदी किमान ४ हजार ५०० रूपये प्रति क्विंटल दराने करुन शेतकऱ्यांना दिलासा देण्याची मागणीही समितीने मुख्यमंत्री पृथ्वीराज चव्हाण यांना पाठवलेल्या पत्रात केली आहे.

Subhash Palekar and “Zero Budget Natural Farming” (ZBNF)

Subhash Palekar and

“Zero Budget Natural Farming” (ZBNF)

Subhash Palekar, popularly known as Krishi ka Rishi (the “sage of agriculture”), is a famous exponent of natural farming and a tireless promoter of the concept of “Zero Budget Natural Farming” (ZBNF). He hails from Amaravati (Maharashtra) but was born in the village of Belora, in the Vidarbha region of Maharashtra, which has been sadly notorious for its high percentage of farmer’s suicides these past two decades.

While his father was a traditional natural farmer, S. Palekar started practising chemical farming on their land, as he was taught in the college. Between 1972 and 1985 the production of his ‘modern’ farm increased regularly but, to his great surpise, it started declining from 1985. This unexpected result led him to thoroughly study the reasons of the decline in the yield and finally to develop the concept of natural farming.

From 1986 to 1988 he studied the ecosystem of the forests and the natural processes which enable the growth of so many fruits, plants and trees such as mango, ber, tamarind, jamulum, custard apple, neem, moha, without any intervention of human beings. As he himself explains « he found that there is a self developing, self nourishing and totally self reliant natural system in the forest, by which all the vegetation and ecosystem exist without any human existence ». Then, for six years (1989-1995), he verified these natural processes on his own farm through 154 research projects that led him to develop a method of natural farming which he called the “Zero Budget Natural Farming”.

Today, Subhash Palekar, who is still cultivating various crops on his 34 acre dry land property, dedicates himself to the propagation of his method all over India. He thus trains the farmers in this technique through camps, workshops, seminars, model farms settled throughout India, and publications in various Indian languages. About 30 lakh farmers have already successfully adopted natural farming over 10 millions of hectares.

The four principles of natural farming

Basically, natural farming aims at cultivating plants by promoting self-reliance of farmers while protecting the environment and stimulating harmony between humans, animals and plants for a sustainable development. The fundamental principle underlying natural farming is that every thing is connected to every thing else on earth as every function is served by many elements and every element has many functions. The relative placement of elements is thus an important key to the success of this method and requires a minutely detailed observation of nature in order to recreate in the fields the same kind of symbiosis, of interactivity between the plants.

farming is based on four principles:

1. Zero budget farming

The production cost for the farmer is zero as no input needs to be purchased. As 1.5 to 2.0 % of the nutrients are taken from the soil by the plant (the rest is taken from the air, water and solar energy), there is no need to add fertilizers. These nutrients provided by nature (as in the forest) are totally free of cost. The farmer uses its own seeds and protects the crop with natural products that he collects himself so that he does not have to buy either chemicals or seeds.

As a zero cost technique, natural farming is an appropriate answer to the current agriculture crisis and particularly to farmers’great indebtedness and dependence on money lenders, that increasingly leads too many of them to commit suicide.

2. Natural inputs

Natural farming does not require chemicals inputs or organic compost like vermiculture (S. Palekar considers these external inputs as as destructive as chemicals) but promotes a natural catalyst of biological activity in the soil and natural protection from diseases.

The nutrients (Nitrogen, Phosphate, Potash, Iron, Sulphur, Calcium) which are present in the soil are not in an available form for the plants. They first need to be transformed through the action of micro-organisms (bacteria, microbes and local earthworms) that are normally present in the soil as well. But the excessive use of chemicals have destroyed these micro-organisms. It is thus necessary to reintroduce them through natural methods like application of local cow dung which, according to S. Palekar, contains 3 to 5 millions of such beneficial microbes. His researches show that local cow dung (zebu) is the most effective compare to foreign cows (Jersey, Holstein). Only one cow is needed to cultivate 30 acres of lands (most Indian farmers own less than 1 acre) as one cow gives about 11 kilograms of dung per day and as only ten kilograms of local cow dung are required per month to cultivate one acre of land.

Observing nature, S.Palekar thus developed a natural “catalytic agent” known as Jivamrit to promote the formation of humus in the soil by encouraging the multiplication of micro-organisms that decompose the dried biomass of the soil and make it available as nutrients for the plants. The components of jivamrit are entirely natural: water, local cow dung, local cow urine, jaggery (sugarcane sugar), pulse’s floor and soil.

On the same pattern, he designed a seeds treatment formula to protect them from various diseases and insects, without using any pesticides: bijamrita is a natural mixture of water, local cow dung, local cow urine, soil and lime.

Other mixtures aimed at managing insects and pests (natural pesticides and fungicides) contain tobacco, green chili, garlic, neem, and various fruits such as custard apple, guava, lantena camella, papaya, white dhotara, pomegranate.

These natural catalysts, protections and treatments ensure the quality of the soil, the underground water and the crops. Preventing any deterioration or pollution of the environment and maintaining the productivity at a very good level on the long term, natural farming can thus be equated with sustainable agriculture.

3. Mulching

Mulching is also one of Zero Budget Natural Farming’s four wheels. It is necessary to create the micro-climate under which micro-organisms can best develop, that is 25 to 32 °C temperature, 65 to 72 % moisture and darkness and warmth in the soil. Mulching indeed conserves humidity of the soil (therefore diminishing the need for irrigation), cools it and protects its micro-organisms.

4. Multicropping

Intercropping, multicropping or mixed cropping, as opposed to mono-cropping which has been imposed by industrial and mechanised agriculture, is the cultivation of two or more crops in proximity in the same field, during a growing season, to promote interaction between them. It is based on the assertion that there is a complementarity between plants. Natural farming enhances the use of the soil and its nutrients through this complementarity between the crops.

For example, one could mix long life-span species (like chikoo, coconut, mango) with short life-span species (like various vegetables, leguminous, medicinal and aromatic plants) and medium life-span species (like banana, papaya, custard apple). The diversification of crops has to be decided according to the area and agro-climatic conditions.

Multicropping is a good way to minimize the risks for the farmer who is able to enjoy continuity of yield throughout the year. In case of a crop’s failure he can also rely on the other crops. Other advantages of intercropping include the limitation of outbreaks of crop pests (some plants act as natural pesticides against other crops’ pests) while rotation protects against endemic pests; the protection of biodiversity; a better and richer nutrition.

Who are the beneficiaries of natural farming ?

Natural farming focuses mainly on small communities and family settlements to whom it ensures livelihood and self-reliance. It prevents small farmers of being dependent on and exploited by firms and multi-national corporations that dominate the agricultural market of chemical inputs and seeds.

An assessment study with farmers from Karnataka who switched over natural farming after attending Subhash Palekar’s workshops shows that the model is effective and the benefits for the farmers are tremendous. As the author of the study states: “The system of zero budget natural farming is eminently suited to the farmers particularly small and marginal farmers because of its simplicity, adoptability and drastic cuts in cost of cultivation of crops. The appeal to the farming community lies in the fact that maintaining optimum levels of production and keeping the cost of cultivation to the bare minimum will substantially enlarge the profit margin.”

From an economic perspective, natural farming has proved more cost effective and input efficient than industrial farming as the farmers spend practically no money on inputs. For example, they would spend only Rs. 100-200 for one acre of paddy whereas they used to spend Rs. 3000 while practising chemical farming.

Natural farming is particularly suitable to small farmers who own only a few acres of land and do not have financial resources. Following the stagnation or even downfall in crops’ productivity in farms using modern technologies and tonnes of pesticides and fertilizers, natural farming proves to be more productive and this on a sustainable way. It actually ensures every farmer its livelihood. Whereas chemical farming turned to be a subsistance agriculture for small farmers, as the profits made from the sale of crops would not be sufficient to repay the loans raised to produce these crops, zero bubdget natural farming enables the famers to increase their returns. For instance the productivity of Basmati rice is about 24 quintals per acre through natural farming, against about 10 quintals in chemical farming.

Moreover, it requires only 10 per cent water and 10 per cent electricity than what is used under chemical and organic farming. Apart from being therefore less costly than modern farming, it is also adapted to the dryland areas that comprise 70% of the cultivable land in India and that have been completely neglected by the Green Revolution and the Government policies.

Natural farming also means diversification and increase of income sources by growing and selling different types of cereals, vegetables, legumes, fruits and even medicinal plants thanks to multicropping and low cost cultivation. For example, a farmer in Karnataka could ensure an additional income of 15,000 Rs. by cultivating ashwaganda, a medicinal plant, as intercrop with sugarcane.

Last but not least diversification of crops through natural farming provides nutritional balance and helps overcoming malnutrition which is rampant in Indian, especially in rural areas. Natural farming also free farmers, their family and neighbors from health hazards which were due to contamination by chemicals of the soil and groundwater.

In the last analysis, natural farming works as a rehabilitation for small scale farmers : it brings them back their dignity, pride, self-respect and self-confidence in their own knowledge and capabilities in making small scale agriculture a viable activity and way of life. Natural farmers emerge as the real experts in sustainable agriculture.

Four vidarbha farmers suicides reported as new chief minister takes the charge :the review of relief packages is hoax as per CAG and PAC Reports

Four vidarbha farmers suicides reported as new chief minister takes the charge :the review of relief packages is hoax as per CAG and PAC Reports massive corruption in it .

Nagpur -21-11-2010

When maharashtra new chief minister was taking task of situation in first cabinet in iar-conditioned hall in Mumbai Mantralaya hall same time four more debt ridden and drought hit farmers were killing themselves in vidarbha due to despair and distress in the on going agrarian crisis even Chief Minister was directing his ministers to review relief packages given in year 2005 to 2008 which are as per report of CAG , PAC and C.I.B. totally fialed and maximum amount tuning to Rs.5000 crore has been siphoned out by Ministers,Babus and contractors and as MOS in PMO Pravthiraj Chavan is completely aware of facts and involved in undue delay in C.B.I. enquiries in relief package irregularities ,

Recent victims of vidarbha agrarian crisis on the day of chief minister taking the charge are-

1.venkaiyya sunkawar of rudha in yavatmal

2.ganesh tayade of borala in buldhana

3.laxman gailwad of deulgoanraja in buldhana

4.sopan padole of gudegoan in bhandara

Taking toll to 670 farmers suicides in year 2010 Kishor Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti(VJAS )informed in press release today.

‘we are shocked to the news of review of packages which are awaiting fresh fund since last 18 months and proposal Rs.5760 crore is already peanding with central Govt. and all reports CAG , PAC and C.I.B were lying in PMO awaiting the order of C.B.I probe whne our chief minister was in charge of the same as MOS in PMO .the main man behind mega irrigation scams of prime minister relief package A.I.B.P. fund is NCP minister Ajitdada Pawar and now he is deputy chief minister and in commanding situation then who can do the review of such political sponsored mega corruption hence new chief minister should come to ground reality’ Kishor Tiwari added in press note

Here are reports releted to corruption in relief package on CAG and PAC reports

QUOTE

CAG report slams Vidarbha relief package

The Comptroller and Auditor General's audit of relief packages for Vidarbha's farmers finds that they were tardy in implementation, mindless in conceptualization and "inconsistent with local need

What was meant to be an aid for farmers has proved to be a bonanza for the government babus and contractors - a feast in breakfast and supper. The Rs.5075-crores special relief packages announced a few years back by the chief minister and prime minister for beleaguered Vidarbha farmers have flopped, expectedly.

The CAG's performance audit of farmers' packages finds that not only were the packages tardy in implementation, but also mindless in conceptualisation and "inconsistent with local needs." Result: The money did not help mitigate the gargantuan agrarian crisis or even reduce farmers' suicides.The CAG report trashes the claims of the government that the packages were highly successful in mitigating the agrarian crisis. Contrarily, it finds holes in it.The Government of Maharashtra tabled the report on the last day of the budget session of the legislature on 27 April 27 skirting any debate on the failure.

Most importantly, the CAG found that the return on investment (RoI) of a typical crisis-ridden farmer in Vidarbha was minus two per cent before the implementation of packages. A farmer was in loss the day he went for sowing. The RoI shot up to seven per cent in the first year, dwindled to five in the second year and stands at two per cent in the third year of its implementation. The positive RoI was on account of moratorium on loan and interest recovery.What it means is that effectively, a farmer was in losses before packages and remains so all through the package-implementation years - a reflection of which would be seen this year when the moratorium is lifted.

That, say sources, is the real face of the crisis - the abysmal income of farmers if one compares these with the per capita income of the rest of the state.In CAG's evaluation, "the possibility that agrarian distress essentially caused by un-remunerative agriculture would start rising again in the closing years of the package (2008-09)." It warns that distress could increase significantly after the expiry of the moratorium on loan recovery, which is June 2008.

"Farmers' suicides shot up dramatically even when the two packages were in vogue," the report acknowledges.One of the important deficiencies of the packages, as the CAG found out, was the fact that the funds spent did not improve agricultural support prices. In its observation, the implementation of recommendations of the Fact Finding Committee (of Planning Commission of India) could have helped in reduction of farmers' distress and the consequent suicides.

The Committee had recommended in March 2006, over two years ago, shortly after its visits to the region, that the minimum support price for agriculture crops should carry appropriate variation for the region so that it reflected the actual input cost and was not an estimated figure.Despite this, observes the CAG, the MSP for the four major crops of the region - cotton, soybean, pulses and paddy - declared by the Government of India during the years 2003-06 was 29-38 per cent less than the MSPs proposed by the state agriculture price committee (SAPC) of Maharashtra Government. During 2006-07, the MSP was 31 to 40 per cent less than that proposed by the SAPC.

Banks no different than shylocks

While there is much brouhaha over shylockian moneylenders exploiting the beleaguered farmers in Vidarbha, the CAG audit report finds cooperative and nationalised banks are no different.Castigating the cooperative and nationalised banks for levying huge interests on crop loans, the CAG report found that the banks not only levied interest more than the principle amount to the tune of Rs.29 crores, but also wrongly claimed it in waiver in six affected districts.

For instance, the seven branches of district central cooperative (DCC) bank test-checked by CAG's surveyors had levied an interest of Rs.5.13 crores as against principal of Rs.3.19 crores, resulting in excess claim of Rs.1.94 crores.That's not all. The CAG found that the DCC banks and rural cooperative societies charged an interest at the rate of 17 per cent per annum instead of 14 per cent in over four lakh accounts involving principal amount of Rs 514.64 crores. The excess claim of interest of three per cent per annum works out to Rs 15.44 crores, it says.

Importantly, the CAG says farmers did not benefit from interest waiver. For, their incomes did not augment in any way.The state government had in its Rs.1075-crores package in 2005 December waived interest on crop loans up to Rs.25,000 taken by farmers of six districts from all DCC, national and rural banks. The government only considered outstanding loans as on 30 November 2005. These were to be rescheduled at 9 per cent interest repayable in three equal annual installments with a two-year moratorium period. The moratorium period ended with the 2007 fiscal year.

Coming next, the PM's package had waived interest on all agricultural loans overdue as on June 2006 and rescheduled the loans.Banks then claimed a total interest waiver of Rs 824.99 crores, with the state's share being Rs.356 crores.

Also in 2006, 9.29 lakh farmers (out of 17.64 lakh) got institutional credit, up from around 4 lakh farmers the previous year. The banks processed interest waivers for farmers in those many bank accounts as part of relief. But when it came to extending fresh loans, they did this only to 48 per cent of the 9.29 loan accounts. The CAG pointed this out, and said that the banks should have extended loans to all these farmers, which was intended in the PM's relief package, but that was not followed by the banks.

So the actual loan outlay in rupee terms too declined with the number of farmers getting formal credit. The CAG noted that fresh crop loan disbursement actually dipped to Rs.673.88 crores (4.84 lakh cases) in 2007 from Rs.1369.85 crore (to 9.29 lakh farmers) in 2006, when prime minister Manmohan Singh announced the package in Nagpur.

The CAG report curiously quotes the Principal Secretary, Cooperation, without recording the name of official, as having replied to a query pertaining to decline in the number of fresh loan cases. While the official said that 1,92,745 borrowers were landless farm workers who did not require any crop loan, the CAG says that for these farmers, the banks faultily extended them crop loans.

Also, in a number of other cases, the CAG found the extension of the loan relief package was unnecessary and not in keeping with the terms of relief -- 26,400 borrowers had died, 25,129 farmers had sold their land (in that year), 21,125 had left villages and 30,715 did not require any loan. The 62,807 cases were marred by disputes of lack of essential documents while in 85,975 cases the farmers had long-term loans.

Furthermore, the CAG report states that the government's ban on illegal money lending did not stand before the High Court in October 2006. The government neither appealed against these orders (in the Supreme Court) nor took any remedial action like amendment of the relevant Acts, such as the Bombay Money Lending Act. Consequently, the affected farmers, who had lost their lands to the moneylenders, did not get any benefit. The money-lending law may be re-examined in the light of decisions by High Court, the CAG has recommended.

Micro-irrigation compliance issues could worsen crisis

The CAG report found serious problems with the micro-irrigation and assured irrigation projects worth over Rs.2300 crores in the packages. The PM's package has a component of Rs.2177 crores to create irrigation potential for 1.6 lakh hectares in six suicide-prone districts. Of this, Rs.2085.38 crores was to fund eight major, nine medium and 65 minor irrigation projects as grant from the Centre.

However, in December 2006, the Government of India revised the eligibility criteria for funding. According to this, if the state government fails to comply with the agreed date of completion, the amount released would be treated as loan and recovered as per usual terms of central loan recovery.

The CAG report states that the possibility of completion of projects within the stipulated time is remote. "This presents the risk of Rs 2085.38 crore (or 56 per cent of total package amount) becoming loan instead of grant."

Public Accounts Committee (PAC) reports massive corruption in Rs.3750/- crore Prime Minister Relief Package for distressed vidarbha farmers- VJAS demands stern action all erring officers

Nagpur -16th November 2009

The 15th report of Public accounts committee (PAC) tabled in Maharashtra legislative assembly on 11th November by PAC chairman BJP MLA Girish Bapat from Pune has pointed out that the massive corruption in the in Rs.3750/- Prime Minister Relief Package for distressed vidarbha farmers resulted in it’s failure and also suggested very stern action under Indian penal code against all erring officers involved in the implementation of relief packages announced to stop farmers suicides in western vidarbha, Kishore tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS), informed today

Public accounts committee (PAC) has asked for Action Taken Report (ATR) to be submitted in winter session of legislative assembly starting from 8th December in Nagpur .The 15th report of Public accounts committee (PAC) has blamed irrigation department ,agriculture department and co-operative banks for siphoning out thousands crore by the complete understanding of concern ministers and executives in the top end of govt. in Mantralaya.

some of officers who was involved in irregularities and corruption of thousand crore has taken voluntary retirement from state Govt. service with due consent of concern minister .all contract or supply order of relief work and materials was fabricated and most of the money was diverted to the ministers, contractors and officers even after PAC asked for immediate action till date there is no action against the officers or the banks ,PAC report added.

The 15th report of Public accounts committee (PAC) has expressed shock and displeasure over the extreme apathy of executive to provide ex-gratis aid to kin of deceased farmers .In some cases bribe was demanded from kin of deceased farmers who committed suicide to make illegible for the aid .this is sheer apathy and indicates inefficient functionary in administration , Public accounts committee (PAC) said in the report.

Public accounts committee (PAC) has asked Govt. to arrange for the detail probe in all cases of irregularities and malpractices in relief packages and in providing ex-gratia and to take stringent action against those already found guilty.ATR should be submitted to Public accounts committee (PAC),it recommended.

Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS),farmers advocacy group who have already lodged complaints aginst on going massive corruption in farmers relief packages ,now urged Govt. to tale stern action against all concern ministers and officers involved in the corruption, Kishore tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS), informed today.

UNQUOTE

“if maharashtra Govt. is very serious to address agrarian crisis of vidarbha then he should first implementation of recommendations Jadhav panel of giving food security and health care and proper credit to more than a million distress who dying without aid since 2005 ’Tiwai urged

Tractors seized, power cut off, say Vidharbha farmers-Indo Asian News Service

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Tractors seized, power cut off, say Vidharbha farmers

Indo Asian News Service

Sat, Nov 20 06:09 PM

Nagpur, Nov 20 (IANS) Even as Maharashtra Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan decided to accord top priority to Vidarbha, which has one of the highest incidence of farmers suicides in the country, authorities have seized tractors and cut off power supplies of debt-ridden farmers, that too on the eve of harvesting season, a farmers' group said Saturday.

'The state's Land Development Bank has seized nearly three dozen tractors belonging to debt-ridden farmers, while the electric department has snapped off power supply to nearly 1.4 lakh farmers in the past few days for not paying their bills,' said Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti chief Kishor Tiwari.

'The sad part is this is happening just when harvesting is due to start by month-end,' he said.

'The Nagpur session of the state legislature will begin December 1. Even this morning, the new chief minister made an announcement that Vidarbha would be given top priority,' Tiwari said.

Tiwari said unseasonal rains in large parts of Vidarbha have already hit the debt-ridden farmers badly. Last year, farmers had to contend with a semi-drought, he said.

'With one critical year after another, farmers have no option but to commit suicide. The government agencies too do not understand the situation,' Tiwari said.

Vidarbha has witnessed over 7,000 farmland suicides in the past five years, prompting the announcement of four developmental packages worth over Rs.10,000 crore, including one by the Prime Minister

Government blamed for farmers’ debt crisis

Government blamed for farmers’ debt crisis

Posted By jessy On November 16, 2010 @ 4:51 pm In Indian News | No Comments

A Catholic prelate and a social activist blame federal and state government as debt-ridden farmers continue to commit suicide in India’s central-western region.

In the past four days, 16 farmers took their lives in Vidarbha region of Maharashtra state. As many as 667 farmers committed suicide since January.

“A nation that ignores the welfare of its farmers cannot survive,” says Kishore Tiwari, who is fighting for the rights of some 1 million debt-trapped farmers in the region.

Archbishop Abraham Viruthakulangara of Nagpur says many lives could have been saved if the government machinery had acted in time.

The archbishop heads the region which is most affected with the suicides of farmers. The prelate says the Church is very worried about the suicides of farmers. It has used its energies and resources to support the farmers to re-start their lives, he told ucanews.com.

“We are engaged in a mission of creating alternative sustainable sources of income for them so that they will not face the similar fate in future,” the added.

Tiwari’s Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (forum for Vidarbha people’s struggle) maintains the record of farmers committing suicides in the region.

A survey the government undertook under the state High Court order in 2006 identified some 1 million farmers in deep distress following crop failure.

Tiwari said the government subsequently agreed to offer farmers free gains, medicine, children’s education, marry off their daughters and give fresh bank loans to restore their lives.

However, the government did nothing leaving the farmers at the mercy of private money lenders, Tiwari added.

Tiwari says the main cause of farmer despondency is the government delay in procuring cotton and forceful loan recovery by banks and private micro finance agencies.

He also alleged the textile lobby had pressed the federal government to lower the cotton prices. “The news of a bumper cotton crop and skyrocketing prices was far from the ground reality,” he added.

Tiwari expects prices to firm up in international market after floods ruined cotton crops China and Pakistan. He says the short staple cotton produced in Vidarbha has great demand in Bangladesh and China.

Source: ucanews.com ^[1]

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URL to article: http://www.cathnewsindia.com/2010/11/16/government-blamed-for-farmers%e2%80%99-debt-crisis/

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[1] ucanews.com: http://www.ucanews.com/2010/11/16/government-blamed-for-farmers%E2%80%99-debt-crisis/

11 farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha in last 72 hours-Hindustan Times

Pradip Kumar Maitra, Hindustan Times

Email Author

Nagpur, November 13, 2010

First Published: 17:27 IST(13/11/2010)

Last Updated: 17:29 IST(13/11/2010)

11 farmers commit suicide in Vidarbha in last 72 hours

http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/Print/625756.aspx

Trends in farmer suicide remain unabated even now, especially among cotton growers in Vidarbha region. As many as 11 deaths were reported in the last 72 hours in the region.

According to reports on Saturday, among the latest victims, five were from Chandrapur, four from Amravati while one each from Wardha and Yavatmal district in eastern part of the region. Of them, a couple - Archana Khiradkar (25) and Ravindra Khiradkar (27) of Sonarli village in Chandrapur had ended their lives because of agrarian crisis, the reports said.

Mohan Jadhav, an activist of farmers’ pressure group, pointed out that the cotton farmers in Vidarbha were committing suicide at an alarming frequency as the farmers were not getting the remunerative prices of their produce. The government guarantee price for the raw cotton is just Rs 3000 per quintal while it hardly matches with the rising cost of production, he claimed.

“The agrarian crisis of the region has transformed the green fields into killing fields and the new chief minister Prithviraj Chavan should take the issue seriously,” urges Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti that has been documenting farm suicide in the region since 2001.

Tiwari continued, “In view of the prevailing situation in rural areas of Vidarbha, especially in cotton growing region, the government should enhance the guarantee price of raw cotton from Rs 3000 to Rs 4,500 per quintal. Moreover, the government should provide food security to distressed farmers to prevent the on-going suicide.’

Tiwari sent a letter to the new chief minister in this regard. Sanjay Deshmukh, the district collector of Yavatmal, one of the worst-affected districts in the region, however, was not available for comments.

With the deaths of 11 more farmers, the toll has reached to 23 this month alone while the figure was 60 last month. As many as 663 farmers have ended their lives in the region since January this year while it was 916 last year.

© Copyright 2010 Hindustan Times

Vidarbha farm widows burned Osama’s effigy to protest US Agri-Trade Monopolies and disaster Gm seeds

Vidarbha farm widows burned Osama’s effigy to protest US Agri-Trade Monopolies and disaster Gm seeds

Nagpur-8^th November 2010

When high level committee of US delegates are finalizing the final statements regarding opening up Indian farm sector ,retail sector and small manufacturing sectors are facing lot of problems ,hundreds of vidarbha farm widows in Both-Bodan village which has reported highest number farm suicide 170 kilometer from Nagpur burned US Prez.Barack Obama effigy to protest on going cotton farmers suicides in the vidarbha region of eastern Maharashtra since 2005 after the official permission of commercial cultivation of genetically modified Bt.cotton seeds ,protesting were demanding the complete ban on Bt.cotton seed and withdrawal of huge subsidies to American cotton farmers .Vidarbha Janandolan Samiti (VJAS) secretary Mohan Jadhav who lead the protest said that this wild protest is the result of frustration when Prez.Barack Obama failed echo our sentiments as Indian agrarian crisis which has claimed more than 2,16,000 farmers suicides is very serious and US Govt. can’t ignore the same when American MNCs and so called genetic revolution and research has been instrumental in this crisis .

‘We will continue the protest against US agriculture policies and GM seed promotion till the mass genocide of Indian farmers is not stopped and farmers and farm activist are very upset with the first speech of US Prez.Barack Obama in the meeting of Industrialist and Capitalist of India is very shocking as he is the American president who is in the role of Marketing Manager to US MNCs which under deep recession and economic crisis and focusing 100 crore population out of which 80 % are below poverty line and without food, shelter, employment and health security as ‘Big Consumer Market’ is very unfortunate .USA can’t ignore basic serious issues of poverty and hunger of south east Asia and big problem to the peace and harmony of the region due to US intervention in adjusting nations and existence of mega military forces in and around India’ Kishor Tiwari statement over Obama business speech in Mumbai on Saturday.

It was expected that US Prez.Barack Obama would speak about the truth that from period between 1995 and 2009, the US government paid a quarter of a trillion dollars or a staggering Rs1250000 crore in farm subsidies to its farmers and as per recent report on US federal subsidy published earlier this year by the Washington-based research organization, the Environment Working Group (EWG), the American tax payers shelled out $245.2 billion in farm subsidies during 1995-2009, which works out to an average of $15 billion or Rs75000 crore per year, but he kept his salience over duplicity of US Government.

The VJAS urged political parties to oppose demand of US to open up the FDI in retail and food processing, push for the GM seeds’ adoption, reinvigorate the Indo-US knowledge initiative is matter before agreements are signed and chapter are closed allowing US companies take over in agriculture and rural business. Tiwari also claimed that due to aggressive promotion of Bt Cotton seeds, the Indian cotton manufactures are facing a piquant situation while retiring opposition to proposed policy of Government of India facilitating genetically modified seeds.

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Vidarbha farmers, widows to protest Obama's visit-IANS Reports

Vidarbha farmers, widows to protest Obama's visit- IANS Reports
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/business/vidarbha-farmers-widows-to-protest-obamas-visit_100454738.html

Nagpur, Nov 4 (IANS) Farmers all over Vidarbha in eastern Maharashtra will stage candle-light protests on the eve of US President Barack Obama's visit Friday, seeking to draw his attention to the plight of agriculture sector in the region, an official said.

The US policy of providing huge subsidies to cotton farmers in America has triggered over 216,000 farmland suicides in India, Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) chief Kishor Tiwari said in a statement here Thursday.

He said that farmland widows would light a candle in all the affected villages in Vidarbha and they would make attempts to send a group of widows to Mumbai to protest Obama's visit.

'After permission was granted to commercially cultivate American Bt. Cotton, the lush green Vidarbha cotton fields became dying fields, claiming lives of more than 10,000 farmers -- who opted for this (Bt. Cotton) seed,' Tiwari said.

He said the NGO wants to inform the US president how the claims that Bt. Cotton brought genetic revolution in agriculture are a hoax and lead to distress for over three-fourths of farmers using it and an average of three suicides per day.

Tiwari pointed out that while the whole country gets ready to celebrate Diwali Friday, six farmers committed suicide in the past two days -- taking the toll to 645 in 2010.