Low Cates Worsen Vidarbha Farmers' Plight-TIMES OF INDIA

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Low cotton rates worsen farmers' plight

By Shishir Arya, TNN | Dec 29, 2012, 12.55 AM IST

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/nagpur/Low-cotton-rates-worsen-farmers-plight/articleshow/17800917.cms

** Farm activists are however demanding a higher MSP. Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti said MSP has to be enough to cover the cultivation cost, leaving 50% margin of profit. The current MSP of Rs3,900 is too less to meet the cost which has almost doubled this year. Last year, there was no need for MSP operations as the rates were at a comfortable Rs4,400 to Rs4,500 level, Tiwari said. **

NAGPUR: It's turning out to be the worst year for cotton growers all over the country as almost 14% of the total crop reaching market yards has been sold at a minimum support price (MSP) to Cotton Corporation of India (CCI). As against the arrival of 74 lakh bales in markets throughout the country so far, 11 lakh bales have been purchased by at MSP. Last year, there was no MSP purchase by CCI.

MSP is the last resort and 14% is a fairly high percentage, say observes. The current market rates range between Rs4,000 and Rs4,200 a quintal and the MSP is fixed at Rs3,900. It is meant to ensure the least possible rate to the grower so as to prevent a loss. Although there have been demands to increase it to Rs5,000 to Rs6,000, it has gone up by Rs500 as against the last year.

Realizing that the rates may crash further, CCI has set up a special MSP cell to monitor the market support operations in the country. In Vidarbha, where cotton is linked with the agrarian crisis, CCI has made purchases mainly in Wani.

Even as CCI is the nodal agency which intervenes in the market when rates crash, certain state government bodies like Maharashtra Cotton Marketing Federation also buy at MSP. So the total number of MSP purchases, including the state agencies, can be higher.

In the state, CCI has so far purchased around 1 lakh quintals cotton while the state federation 4,000 quintals, said a source. This comes to 20,000 and 800 bales respectively.

Currently, most of the CCI purchases have taken place in Andhra Pradesh which covers the neighbouring districts of Maharashtra too. The CCI has 55 centres in Maharashtra which will get operational as soon as the rates tend to crash below the MSP. So far, the situation remains under control, said an officer involved in the process.

The rates are low due to abysmal international demand. In the US, cotton output is more than the demand as well as the production capacity of the textile industry. China, which is one of the major buyers, has not gone for bulk imports as yet. The Chinese textile units, facing shrunk margins, are buying on day to day basis.

Farm activists are however demanding a higher MSP. Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti said MSP has to be enough to cover the cultivation cost, leaving 50% margin of profit. The current MSP of Rs3,900 is too less to meet the cost which has almost doubled this year. Last year, there was no need for MSP operations as the rates were at a comfortable Rs4,400 to Rs4,500 level, Tiwari said.

Vijay Jawandiya, a veteran farm activist, said soybean, with rates around Rs3,000 a quintal this year, has somewhat compensated for the farmers' loss on cotton. However, there are chances that the rates may come down so the government should hike the soybean MSP which is at Rs2,200 a quintal to Rs3,300.

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थेट अनुदान योजनेवर आक्षेप-विदर्भातील कुपोषितांच्या उपासमारीला निमंत्रण-विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीचा

थेट अनुदान योजनेवर आक्षेप-विदर्भातील कुपोषितांच्या उपासमारीला निमंत्रण-विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीचा

तभा वृत्तसेवा
यवतमाळ, ५ डिसेंबर
सरकारने घोषित केलेली थेट अनुदान विदर्भातील आदिवासी व शेतमजूर थेट अनुदान योजनेचा विरोध करीत असून, नगदी अनुदान भेटण्यास अनेक अडचणी व विलंब होणार असून, ज्या आधार कार्डावर हे अनुदान देणार आहे. त्या आधार कार्डापासून ७० टक्के आदिवासी वंचित आहे. अनुदान जेव्हा मिळेल तेव्हा तो पैसा अन्नासाठी खर्च होईल. त्याची शाश्वती नसल्यामुळे व बाजार भावात अंत्योदयाच्या दराच्या फरकाने अन्न मिळणार नाही हे सत्य असून, आदिवासी व गरीबांची अन्न सुरक्षा व भारताची भूषण असलेली सार्वजनिक वितरण प्रणाली मुळात संपवून टाकण्यासाठी सरकारने डाव रचला असल्याचा आरोप त्यांनी केला आहे.
सरकारने घोषित केलेली थेट अनुदान योजना विदर्भातील १० लाख आदिवासी ववंचित असणारया गरिबांना अन्न सुरक्षेपासून दूर नेऊन उपासमारीला तोंड देण्यास भाग पाडणार आहे. या योजनेमुळे कुपोषित आदिवासींचे भूकबळी जातील अशी भीती विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीने व्यक्त केलीअसून, आम्ही उच्च न्यायालयात जनहित याचिकेद्वारे सरकारला सर्व आदिवासींनाअन्नपूर्णा व अंत्योदय योजना लागू करूनघेतली. मात्र नगदी अनुदान योजनेमुळे या सर्वलोकांची अन्न सुरक्षा धोक्यात येत असल्याचाआरोप समितीचे अध्यक्ष किशोर तिवारी यांनी केला आहे
अगोदरच विदर्भात मातीच्या तेलात ५० टक्के कपात केल्यामुळे गरिबांच्या घरात अंधार झाला आहे. चुली पेटविण्यासाठी प्रचंड जंगलतोड होत आहे. यातच आता त्यांना अन्नासाठी वणवणफिरावे लागेल व यामुळे होणारया उपासमारीचा परिणाम कुपोषणग्रस्त आदिवासी भागात प्रचंड प्रमाणात होऊनअनेक निष्पाप जीव जातील. त्यामुळे सरकारने थेट अनुदान योजनेची आदिवासी भागात अंमलबजावणी करताना पुनर्विचार करावा, अशी मागणी किशोर तिवारी यांनी केली आहे.
 राजस्थानमधील अलवर जिल्ह्यातील कोटकासीम या ब्लॉकच्या २५ हजार शिधावाटप पत्रिका असणारया कुटुंबांना मागील १ वर्षापासून केरोसीन बाजारभावात विकत घ्या व अनुदान थेट बँकेतून घ्या ही
योजना पूर्णपणे कोलमडली आहे. ७० टक्के जनता मातीचे तेल विकतच घेत नसून जंगलतोड करून स्वयंपाक करीत आहे. कारण मागील वर्षभरात त्यांना थेट अनुदान  मिळाले नसल्याच्या तक्रारी आहेत.  असाच प्रकार महाराष्ट्रामध्ये महात्मागांधी रोजगार योजनेअंतर्गत थेट मजुरांनाबँकेतून मजुरी देण्यामध्ये झाला असून ९० टक्के मजुरांची बँकेतील रक्कम त्यांना विश्वासात न घेता बँक अधिकारयांनी सरळ कंत्राटदारांना दिल्याचे सिद्ध झाले. ज्या देशात नागरिकांची ओळख करण्यासाठी अंतिम कायदा तयार झाला नसताना कोणतेही नियम व कायदे न पाळता सध्या सुरू असलेले आधार कार्डचे वाटप संपूर्णपणे बेकायदेशीर असून या विषयीभारताच्या संसदेमध्ये व सर्वोच्च न्यायालयात विचारणा होत आहे, याकडे समितीने लक्ष वेधले आहे.

अशा परिस्थितीत आधार कार्डाच्या भरोशावर थेट अनुदान योजना लागू करणे म्हणजे भारतातील आदिवासी, दलित व वंचित गरीबांना अन्नापासून दूर नेण्याचा डाव असून भांडवलदारांच्या हातात अन्नाचे नियंत्रण देण्याचा कट आहे, हा कट आम्ही हाणून पाडू ,असा विश्वास किशोर तिवारी यांनी व्यक्त केला.

Water Wars in Maharashtra-The New York Times

December 4, 2012, 1:51 am

Water Wars in Maharashtra

By NEHA THIRANI

In the state of Maharashtra, irrigation is sparking social unrest and political turmoil, and the battle for water is about to get worse.
Ajit Pawar, the Nationalist Congress Party leader and former Maharashtra deputy chief minister, resigned in September after the release of a report, from a committee commissioned by the state government and headed by the retired Principle Secretary of the Water Resources Department, Nandkumar Vadnere, that alleged far-reaching improprieties in water allocation and the implementation of irrigation projects in the state. Mr. Pawar was the Water Resources Minister for Maharashtra between 1999 and 2009.
On Thursday, a "white paper on irrigation" prepared by Maharashtra's Water Resources Department was presented in the Maharashtra cabinet.  The paper denies any wrongdoing by Mr. Pawar, saying that the state's irrigation potential rose by 28 percent between 2001 and 2010. 
But the white paper was quickly criticized because it fails to account for allegations made by activists against Mr. Pawar. He has been accused of sanctioning 38 irrigation projects, worth 20 billion rupees, or $365 million, without clearance from the governing council of Vidarbha Irrigation Development Corporation.
On Sunday, the anticorruption activist Arvind Kejriwal released a "black paper on irrigation" in response, which claims that the cost per hectare for irrigating land in Maharashtra is among the highest in India.
A report released by Greenpeace India on Monday examines the future availability of water in the drought-prone Vidarbha region of Maharashtra. The study, conducted by the Indian Institute of Technology, New Delhi, examines the impact that allocating water to thermal power plants will have on the livelihood of farmers in Vidarbha.
Thermal power plants, powered by fossil fuels like coal, use large quantities of water for cooling purposes. A study released in August by the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry, a trade group, in partnership with HSBC Knowledge Initiative said the thermal power sector uses more water than any other industrial sector. According to the report, power generation will require 33 billion cubic meters of water in 2025 and about 70 billion cubic meters in 2050.
According to the Greenpeace study, as of December 2010 there were 71 power plants, with a total installed capacity of nearly 55 gigawatts, in various stages of approval in the Vidarbha region. This planned increase in power production could worsen water shortages, raise pollution levels, eliminate farmland and cause environmental damage, said the report, which analysed  present and future demands on the Wardha and Wainganga rivers.
According to the study, whose authors are Prof. A. K. Gosain, Dr. Rakesh Khosa and Jatin Anand from I.I.T. Delhi's department of civil engineering, the proposed thermal plants will require 1.7 billion cubic metres of water per year, enough to irrigate more than 410,000 hectares of farmland. If the planned thermal power expansion is carried out, the water available in the Wardha River basin would drop by 40 percent, according to the report. In the Wainganga River basin, it would drop by 16 percent.
"There is clearly a crisis in water in the region, but that seems to have escaped the planners" when they decided where to put thermal power plants,  said Jai Krishna, campaigner for climate and energy at Greenpeace India. "If the expansion of thermal power plants goes unchecked, in a decade there will be a power plant in Vidarbha nearly every 15 kilometers, which will be using water and releasing ash and pollution," he said.
Government policies that make water and land cheap in the area seem to be the reason for location of the thermal plants, he said. None of the plants are expected to use coal from the region.
The Vidarbha region, in eastern Maharashtra, is among the state's most underdeveloped areas.  It is largely inhabited by impoverished cotton farmers who are reliant on the region's scant rainfall for their crop. Uncertain rainfall and the rising costs of farming have made agriculture less and less sustainable in the region, leading to an increase in farmer suicides.
"This year, in the period between January and December, there have been 824 farmer suicides in Vidarbha," said Kishore Tiwari, president of the Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti, a farmers' rights group working in the region. "The farmers are caught in a cycle of debt which is policy-driven," he said. "The government needs to rethink its policies towards rural and agrarian economy to safeguard the interests of farmers."
Vidarbha is not the only area where water allocation has become a flashpoint between farmers and the government. "This problem is becoming increasingly common wherever there is a large concentration of thermal plants coming up," said Shripad Dharmadhikary, founder of Manthan Adhyayan Kendra, a research center that focuses on water and energy issues. "In many places, such as in Maharashtra, water is earmarked and dams are created for irrigation - promising the local people benefits from these facilities - but are now being used for industries that do not benefit the local population."
Farmers across India are staging protests against plans to locate thermal plants in their region. Farmers from the region around the Hirakud reservoir in Orissa, where several thermal plants are planned, have rallied for access to the water from the Mahanadi River. Water from the Rihand Dam in Uttar Pradesh and the region around the Narmada River in central India has also been allocated to thermal plants. "It is not that we are saying the government must not create thermal plants, as these will also contribute to the economic development of the country," said Mr. Dharmadhikary. However, he said, "some thought must be given to the local communities when allocating the country's precious resources."

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थेट अनुदान; आदिवासी गरिबांच्या उपासमारीला निमंत्रण विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीचा आरोप

थेट अनुदान; आदिवासी गरिबांच्या उपासमारीला निमंत्रण

विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीचा आरोप

राजस्थानामधील अलवर जिल्हय़ातील कोटकासीम या ब्लॉकच्या २५ हजार शिधावाटप पत्रिका असणार्‍या कुटुंबाना मागील १ वर्षापासून केरोसीन बाजार भावात विकत घ्या व अनुदान थेट बॅंकेतून घ्या ही योजना पूर्णपणे कोलमडली आहे. ७0 टक्के जनता मातीचे तेल विकतच घेत नसून जंगल तोड करून स्वंयपाक करत आहे. असाच प्रकार महाराष्ट्रामध्ये महात्मा गांधी रोजगार योजनेंतर्गत थेट मजुरांना बॅंकेतून मजुरी देण्यामध्ये झाला असून ९0 टक्के मजुरांनी बॅंकेतील रक्कम त्यांना विश्‍वासात न घेता बॅंक अधिकार्‍्यांनी सरळ कंत्राटदारांना दिल्याचे सिद्ध झाले आहे. ज्या देशात नागरिकांची ओळख करण्यासाठी अंतिम कायदा तयार झाला नसताना कोणतेही नियम व कायदे न पाळता सुध्या सुरू असलेले आधार कार्डचे वाटप संपूर्णपणे बेकायदेशीर असून या विषयी भारताच्या संसदेमध्ये व सवरेच्य न्यायालयात विचारणा होत आहे. अशा परिस्थितीमध्ये आधार कार्डाच्या भरोशावर थेट अनुदान योजना लागू करणे म्हणजे भारतातील आदिवासी, दलित व वंचित गरीबांना अन्नापासून दूर नेण्याचा डाव असून भांडवलदारांच्या हातात अन्नाचे नियंत्रण देण्याचा कट असून हा कट हाणून पाडू, असा ईशारा किशोर तिवारी यांनी दिला आहे.स्थानिक प्रतिनिधी/३ डिसेंबर यवतमाळ : सरकारने घोषित केलेली थेट अनुदान योजना विदर्भातील १0 लाख आदिवासी व वंचित असणार्‍या गरीबांना अन्न सुरक्षेपासून दूर नेऊन उपासमारीला तोंड देण्यास भाग पाडणार ,असा आरोप विदर्भजनआंदोलन समितीने केला आहे. उच्च न्यायालयात जनहित याचिकेद्वारे सरकारला सर्व आदिवाशींना अन्नपूर्णा व अंत्योदय योजना लागू करून घेतली. मात्र नगदी अनुदान भेटण्यास अनेक अडचणी व विलंब होणार असून ज्या आधार कार्डावर हे अनुदान देणार आहे. त्याआधार कार्डापासून ७0 टक्के आदिवासी वंचित आहे. अनुदान जेव्हा मिळेल तेव्हा तो पैसा अन्नासाठी खर्च होईल त्याची शाश्‍वती नसल्यामुळे व बाजार भावात अंत्योदयाच्या दराच्या फरकाने अन्न मिळणार नाही हे सत्य असून संपूर्ण आदिवासी व गरीबांची अन्न सुरक्षा व भारताची भूषण असलेली सार्वजनिक वितरण प्रणाली मुळात संपवून टाकण्यासाठी सरकारने डाव रचला असून पहिलेच विदर्भात ५0 टक्के मातीच्या तेलात कपात केल्यामुळे गरीबांच्या घरात अंधार झाला. त्यामुळे चुली पेटविण्यासाठी प्रचंड जंगल तोड होत आहे. यातच आता त्यांना अन्नासाठी वन वन फिरावे लागेल व यामुळे होणार्‍या उपासमरीचा परिणाम कुपोषणग्रस्त आदिवासी भागात प्रचंड प्रमाणात होऊन अनेक निष्पाप जीव जातील तरी सरकारने थेट अनुदान योजनेचा आदिवासी भागात अंमलबजावणी करताना पुर्नविचार करावा अशी मागणी शेतकरी नेते किशोर तिवारी यांनी केली.

सिचन श्वेतपत्रिका, हीशुद्ध धूळफेक---शेतकरी विधवा विधानभवना समोर होळी करणार

सिचन श्वेतपत्रिका, हीशुद्ध धूळफेक :विदर्भ  जनादोलन समिति 

शेतकरी विधवा विधानभवना समोर  होळी करणार  

तभा वृत्तसेवा यवतमाळ, १ डिसेंबर 

 महाराष्ट्राचे माजी जलसंधारण मंत्री अजितपवार आणि विद्यमान जलसंधारण मंत्री सुनीलतटकरे यांच्यावर असलेल्या आरोपांच्या संदर्भात प्रसिद्ध करण्यात आलेली सिचनश्वेतपत्रिका म्हणजे एक शुद्ध धूळफेक आहे.या बोगस श्वेतपत्रिकेचा आम्ही निषेध करीत असून मंगळवार, ११ रोजी नागपूर विधानभवनासमोर या श्वेतपत्रिकेची विदर्भातील शेतकरी आणि आत्महत्याग्रस्तशेतकरी विधवा होळी करणार असल्याचीमाहिती विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीचे अध्यक्षकिशोर तिवारी यांनी दिली.

राष्ट्रवादी काँग्रेसच्या या दोन मंत्र्यांनी सारेनियम व कायदे धाब्यावर बसवून ५० हजारकोटींच्या सिचनाचे कंत्राट देताना मोठाभ्रष्टाचार केल्याचा आरोप आहे. हा प्रकारम्हणजे आत्महत्या करणारया शेतकरयांच्याटाळूवरचे लोणी खाण्याचाच प्रकार असल्याचा आरोप विजसने यापूर्वीच केला आहे.सगळीकडूनच या विषयावर जोरदार आरोप होत असल्यामुळे आपली अडचण टाळण्याकरिता महाराष्ट्राच्या मुख्यमंत्र्यांनी श्वेतपत्रिका काढण्याचे घोषित करून विरोधीपक्ष, प्रसार माध्यमे आणि जनतेला शांत के लेहोते, असे या संदर्भात काढलेल्या पत्रकात विजसने म्हटले आहे मात्र सरकारकडून विश्वासघात जाला आहे असेही तिवारी यानी   म्हटलेआहे.

सिचन श्वेतपत्रिका काढणे म्हणजेमुख्यमंत्री पृथ्वीराज चव्हाण यांचे एक सोंगहोते, असा आरोप करून किशोर तिवारी यांनी या श्वेतपत्रिकेनंतर भ्रष्टाचार करणारया मंत्र्यांवर गाज कोसळणार असा आव ही मुख्यमंत्र्यांनी आणला होता असे म्हटलेआहे. त्यानुसार उपमुख्यमंत्री अजित पवार यांनी स्वच्छ चारित्र्याचे गुणगान करीत राजीनामा सुद्धा दिला होता. मात्र सरकारने या श्वेतपत्रिकेत गेल्या आठ वर्षांत या विषयात झालेल्या भ्रष्टाचाराचा कोणताही उल्लेख केलेला नसल्याचे त्यांनी म्हटले आहे.

या श्वेतपत्रिकेत सिचन क्षेत्रात झालेल्या भ्रष्टाचाराला पूर्णपणे बगल देण्यात आलीआहे. अजित पवार आणि सुनील तटकरे या दोन्ही आजी माजी सिंचन मंत्र्यांना या संपूर्ण प्रकरणात चारित्र्य प्रमाणपत्र देण्याचा आणि दोषमुक्त असल्याचे दाखविण्याचाच प्रयत्न सरकार करीत आहेत असा  आरोप  विदर्भ 

जनआंदोलन समितीने केला  आहे.   भारताचे पंतप्रधान डॉ. मनमोहनसिहयांनी विदर्भातील शेतकरयांच्या आत्महत्याथांबविण्यासाठी विदर्भ सिचन विकासमहामंडळाच्या माध्यमातून केंद्र सरकारकडूनसुमारे १० हजार कोटींची विशेष तरतूद करूनदिली होती. परंतु तत्कालीन जलसंधारण मंत्रीअजित पवार यांनी सारे नियम बदलवून टाकतआपल्या मर्जीतील ठेकेदारांना हजारो कोटीरुपयांच्या कामांची खैरात महाराष्ट्र सरकारने सर्व नियम ध्याबावर ठेवून  केली होती, असा   आरोप विजसने केला आहे.  

प्रकल्पांच्या कामात या ठेकेदारांनी सरकारच्या मंत्र्याची  घर भरली  असून सिंचानाच्या नावावर  यापैशांना चुना लावत प्रचंड भ्रष्टाचार केला. सारा भ्रष्टाचार सिचन खात्यातीलच  अधिकारयांनी चव्हाट्यावर आणला असल्याचे समितीने म्हटले आहे.कारवाईसाठी उच्च न्यायालयात जनहित याचिका दाखल करण्यात आली आहे. यासंदर्भात उच्च न्यायालयाने सरकारला नोटीसदेऊनही या भ्रष्टाचारांच्या आरोपांकडे लक्षया भ्रष्टाचाराच्या चौकशी आणिदेण्यास सरकारला वेळ मिळालेला नाही.दुसरीकडे मात्र ज्या मंत्र्यांवर भ्रष्टाचाराचे आरोप आहेत त्यांनी कोणताच भ्रष्टाचार केलेला नाही असे दाखले देऊन मुख्यमंत्री पृथ्वीराज चव्हाण यांनी महाराष्ट्राच्या जनतेचा विश्वास पूर्णपणे गमावला आहे, असेही त्यांनी म्हटले आहे.

 महाराष्ट्राच्या मुख्यमंत्र्यांनी राष्ट्रवादी काँग्रेसच्या भ्रष्ट मंत्र्यांना वाचविण्यासाठी आणि आघाडीचे राजकारणव सत्ता टिकवण्यासाठी विदर्भाच्या पाच लाख शेतकरयांचा विश्वासघात केला असल्याचाआरोप करून मुख्यमंत्री पृथ्वीराज चव्हाणयांनी आपल्या पदाचा राजीनामा द्यावा,अशीही मागणी विदर्भ जनआंदोलन समितीचेअध्यक्ष किशोर तिवारी यांनी केली आहे

Huge losses in store for Maharashtra Bt.cotton Growers –TIMES OF INDIA

Huge losses in store for Maharashtra Bt.cotton Growers –TIMES OF INDIA

Tue, Nov 27, 2012 

Ramu Bhagwat-TNN

**** Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) said the state government has officially admitted that cotton yield is likely to dip by nearly 40% because of Bt cotton failure in more than 4 million hectares . "A report sent by the state agricultural department to the centre has estimated that the net direct economic loss to cotton farmers in the state will be nearly Rs6,000 crore, whereas accumulated losses are likely to cross more than Rs20,000 crore due to a steep rise in cultivation costs," said Tiwari.

"The government will have to intervene to bail out farmers . Last year, the state had given a relief package of Rs 2,000 crore to Vidarbha. But this year the losses are more. We demand a compensation of Rs20,000 per hectare and fresh crop loans for every farmer for the ensuing kharif season. We also want food security and free health education, along with the implementation of land development, soil enrichment and watershed development under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act," he said.****

Huge losses are in store for cotton growers of the state this year too, said officials in the cotton growers cooperative marketing federation on Monday. Farm activists too said crop losses would be anywhere between 25 to 50%. What is more perturbing is that despite poor crop, not only in the state and also in Gujarat this year, rates in open markets have remained stable around Rs 4,000 a quintal.

"Cotton is always an unpredictable commodity. There are so many factors, from weather conditions, crop situation in other countries, international markets to the fickle nature of demand from industry. All these go into deciding the open market rates," explained NP Hirani, chairman of the cotton federation. He said the federation has till date opened 92 procurement centres but managed to procure merely 788 quintals at the government price of around Rs 3,900.

"With market rates ruling around Rs 4,050, farmers prefer to sell to private traders to earn more," said Hirani. For the first time this season he admitted that crop loss this year could be to the tune of 25%. "Crop in our state is better that in some parts of Gujarat, where damage has been more widespread," he added.

While traders have bought 1.71 lakh quintals, the Cotton Corporation of India has procured only 1,500 quintals till date, Hirani claimed. "The arrivals are low, indicating poor yields. At the start of the season, we were not expecting such a heavy loss. Last year, we had a crop of 88 lakh bales in the state. This time it may be around 66 lakh bales," he said.

However, Kishore Tiwari of Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS) said the state government has officially admitted that cotton yield is likely to dip by nearly 40% because of Bt cotton failure in more than 4 million hectares . "A report sent by the state agricultural department to the centre has estimated that the net direct economic loss to cotton farmers in the state will be nearly Rs6,000 crore, whereas accumulated losses are likely to cross more than Rs20,000 crore due to a steep rise in cultivation costs," said Tiwari.

"The government will have to intervene to bail out farmers . Last year, the state had given a relief package of Rs 2,000 crore to Vidarbha. But this year the losses are more. We demand a compensation of Rs20,000 per hectare and fresh crop loans for every farmer for the ensuing kharif season. We also want food security and free health education, along with the implementation of land development, soil enrichment and watershed development under Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act," he said.

"We hope the state relief packages actually helps farmers this, time instead of just benefiting contractors, politicians and multinational agro majors like in the past," said Tiwari. The VJAS has threatened to take out a protest march of farmers to the Vidhan Sabha here on the opening day of the winter session of the state legislature on December 10.

IAC has shifted focus from core issue of 'Vidarbha Agrarian Crisis'-MeriNews.com Reports

IAC has shifted focus from core issue of 'Vidarbha Agrarian Crisis'-MeriNews.com Reports



http://www.merinews.com/article/iac-has-shifted-focus-from-core-issue-of-vidarbha-agrarian-crisis/15876660.shtml

*Welcoming the efforts of IAC, Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti has said that the anti-corruption movement should, instead of using issues for their political benefits, raise the issues of aam aadmi who is suffering the most.
**VIDARBHA JAN Andolan Samiti has been closely associated with India Against Corruption (IAC) and according to its national president, Kishore Tiwari, the Samiti was asked to 'provide all details related to irrigation scam and recently developed power project crisis'.

But Tiwari has alleged that the motive of IAC, which should have been to raise the issue of agrarian crisis in Vidarbha, has been mis-directed and used for their own political game.

“All data given by us was intentionally not used as it was targeted towards very complex integrated issue policies, technology, development model and massive misdeeds done at various levels but lastly it resulted in single person focus agenda where our main issues have gone on backfoot,” Tiwari rued.

Welcoming the focus on 'irrigation scam', Tiwari said that it should be used to bring to the forethe main issues of Indian rural crisis, including agrarian, health, employment, very costly education, massive unemployment, pathetic condition of NRHM, ICDS, MNREGA and ITDP

“We are ready to provide them all need inputs. But we demand that IAC should focus on main demands of Aam Aadmi, living in remote villages and who is dying without food and medicine,” Tiwari added.

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