PMO Satisfied with Vidarbha Package Implementation

REDUCTION IN INCIDENCE OF FARMERS' SUICIDES IN VIDARBHA ?
Link - HTTP://WWW.NEWKERALA.COM/NEWS5.PHP?ACTION=FULLNEWS&ID=31711

MUMBAI, MAY 21: THE PRIME MINISTER'S OFFICE (PMO) HAS EXPRESSED SATISFACTION OVER THE IMPLEMENTATION OF SPECIAL FINANCIAL PACKAGE TO DISTRICTS IN VIDARBHA THAT ARE PRONE TO SUICIDES BY FARMERS.
THE PMO RECENTLY REVIEWED THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PACKAGE, AN OFFICIAL RELEASE ISSUED HERE TODAY SAID.
IT SAID DUE TO EFFECTIVE STEPS TAKEN BY THE STATE GOVERNMENT, THE NUMBER OF SUICIDES DUE TO AGRICULTURE-RELATED PROBLEMS, THAT WERE AROUND 60 A MONTH, HAS COME DOWN TO 20.
PMO ALSO NOTED THAT CHIEF MINISTER VILASRAO DESHMUKH WAS PERSONALLY MONITORING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PACKAGE.
OF THE TOTAL PACKAGE FO RS 3,650 CRORE, ABOUT 40 PER CENT (RS 1,526 CR) HAVE BEEN SPENT IN THE LAST NINE MONTHS. THE PMO HAS SAID THAT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PACKAGE IN THE FIRST YEAR HAS BEEN SATISFACTORY. THE STATE GOVERNMENT HAS MADE IT CLEAR THAT IT WILL ACHIEVE THE TARGET OF 75 PER CENT IN THE NEXT TWO YEARS.
THE OBJECTIVE OF WAIVER OF INTEREST RATE ON PENDING LOANS HAS EXCEEDED RS 712 CRORE TO RS 825 CRORE. ABOUT 10 LAKH FARMERS HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THE AGRICULTURE CREDIT. THE LOAN DISBURSEMENT HAS DOUBLED DURING 2005-06.
AN ADDITIONAL 34,000 HECTARE IRRIGATION CAPACITY HAS BEEN CREATED DURING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PM'S PACKAGE SO FAR. AS MANY AS 11 PROJECTS HAVE BEEN SANCTIONED AND RS 615 CRORE HAVE BEEN SPENT.
DURING THE RABI SEASON OF 2005-06, 1.25 LAKH QUINTAL SEEDS WERE DISTRIBUTED. DURING THE KHARIF SEASON OF 2007, ADDITIONAL FOUR LAKH SEEDS HAVE BEEN KEPT READY, THE RELEASE ADDED.
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UNQUOTE :

MAHARASHTRA GOVT. CLARIFICATION IS MISLEADING AS RS.1526 CRORE OF PRIME MINISTER PACKAGE RS.712 CRORE WENT TO THE BANK AND REMAINING AMOUNT RS.800 CRORE WERE GIVEN TO IRRIGATION CONTRACTOR AFTER TAKING 20 % COMMISSION FROM THEM,KISHOR TIWARI OF VJAS INFORMED.

MAHARASHTRA GOVT. CLAIM OF CREATING ADDITIONAL CAPACITY OF 34,000 HECTOR FOR IRRIGATION IS ONLY ON PAPER AND 1.25 LACS QUINTAL SEED DISTRIBUTED IN LAST RABI SEASON HAS NOT EVEN INCREASED 1.25 LAC QUINTAL OF ADDITIONAL PRODUCTION IN RABI SEASON DUE WRONG SELECTION OF SEED AND MASSIVE CORRUPTION IN DISTRIBUTION OF SEED AND SAME WILL HAPPEN TO FOUR LAC QUINTAL SEED BEING DISTRIBUTED IN THIS YEAR AS THESE SEED ARE GIVEN ON 50% SUBSIDY NOT FREE AND COST FIX BY THE GOVT. IS 100% LOADED THAN MARKET PRICE OF THE SAME SEED MORE OVER IT IS BEING GIVEN ONE POCKET PER FARMER WHICH HARDLY COVER LESS THAN ACRE OF SOWING HENCE IT IS ONLY PAPER CLAIM NOT RELIEF, KISHOR TIWARI ADDED.

UP Weavers - Frontline Story by Annie Zaidi Varanasi

Deprivation - Hunger and Deaths in Uttar Pradesh - The Living dead - story by Annie Zaidi, Frontline, Hindu :
...
Yet the State of Uttar Pradesh does not seem to have quite understood the connection between hunger and death. The crisis brewing in its belly, which the State has not acknowledged publicly so far, has claimed hundreds of lives already.

One of them, nine-month-old Seema, died in July 2006 at Belwa village in Varanasi district. Her grandmother Manni Musahar said they had nothing to eat and no money. Seema's mother Lakshmina tried to barter her wedding sari for grain. But before that her baby died. The sari had to be pawned anyway, for Rs.100. ...

http://www.flonnet.com/fl2406/stories/20070406002911100.htm

Mangala Shivaji Betwar - Letter to ManMohan Singh

(THIS IS TRANSLATION OF LETTER OF ONE OF WIDOWS HAS WRITTEN TO INDIAN PRIME MINISTER FOR HELP)
To,
Dr. Man Mohan Singh,
Indian Prime Minister, Government of India
New Delhi-1100011

REF : YOUR HEALING TOUCH TO VIDARBHA FARM WIDOWS IS MISSING
SUB : PLEASE ARRANGE TO SAVE VIDARBHA FARM WIDOWS

Respected sir,

1. My husband Shivaji Betwar of Kelapur in Yavatmal district, Maharashtra, had killed himself by hanging to tree in August of last year after your announcement of package and you specially asked District Collector to give healing touch to farm widows of west Vidarbha.
Please see this photo below :

He was a cotton farmer, and he was forced to commit suicide as local bankers Bank of Maharashtra, Pahapal branch had failed to give him crop loan even though he was not defaulter.
2. Then since after the his sad death, I was told by local administration that as per promise made by you, the relief aid will be given to me as I have two small kids one age 4 and other age 7. After the death of my husband, nobody is there to look after me here at my in laws place. Nobody is there to look after our land too.
3. To day local Tahsildar has told me that Yavatmal District Collector has rejected my case as there was no crop loan, against by husband's name when he committed suicide. It was matter of surprise that when local bank has not given us loan and credit crunch has been reason of distress to commit suicide, I am being refused the compensation.
4. In order to avoid my kid's starvation, I went back to my mother's place in Andhra Pradesh mandal Besa in Adilabad district. But it was very difficult for them to feed my family as my brother is farm labor and I was forced to return back to dead husband's place in Maharashtra.
PRAYER :
Dear Prime Minister, it has been very difficult to live in these pathetic condition where as babus in local administration have not giving any help to me, I am writing to you that after your Vidarbha visit more than 1000 Farm Widows compensation claims have been rejected, in order to show the effect of your package, that suicides have declined, and we are innocent victims of your administrative politics.
You are kindly requested to save my small kids and help me.
Yours sincerely,
MANGALA SHIVAJI BETWAR

2007 - Mass BT Cotton Sowing in Vidarbha

VJAS Demands BT Cotton Sowing Intervention Vidarbha
VJAS DEMANDS BAN ON Bt. COTTON BOLLGARD - II IN VIDARBHA :

After the landmark mass sowing permission, by GEAC in June 2005, for Bt Cotton in Vidarbha, more than 2230 cotton farmers suicides have been reported and govt. of maharashtra has compensated cotton growers Rs. 219 core and Rs. 210 crore in the year 2005-2006 and year 2006-2007 for the failure of Bt.cotton in rain fed area of Vidarbha.
Maharashtra govt. has on record admitted that Bt. Cotton has failed in rain fed areas of Vidarbha, whereas 95% area of vidarbha is rain fed.
Now Bt.cotton seeds manufacturing, American company, has introduced Bollgard - II.
For promoting the Bt cotton seeds in Vidarbha, the company, with an elaborate network of Indian seed distributors and dealers, has started its high profile advertising campaign, backed by credit incentives - that it is highly profitable and gives minimum 11 quintal productive yield, where as according to govt. of maharashtra official report the cotton average yield has been dropped down from 120 kg per acre to hardly 50 kg per acre after introduction of Bt.cotton in vidarbha.
The advertising slogan catch line is "your farming, your profits"....
The claims made by the Monsanto company were patently fraudulent, as cotton growers pesticide uses was not dropped down where cotton output was drastically effected resulting mass suicides of cotton farmers in Vidarbha, Kishor tiwari added.
The Indian government is more busy at this time setting its cricket team into good shape for the next World Cup rather than rectifying the wrong decisions of GEAC regarding poor judgement in cropping and sowing patterns in Indian agriculture as a whole.
What a mockery of an Agriculture Ministry.

Total Failure of Rural health care support system, employment and social cum civil administration are the main reasons of farmer's suicides in west vidarbha.
Dr. Sudhir Goyal, IAS, who is Relief Commissionor, and implementing prime minister package himself has asked Indian govt. that low cost sustainable farming is only solution of stop these suicides.
The officials are more busy trying to show that there is no agrarian distress on Indian farms.
Ban on Bt. Cotton and chemical farming is need of hour, and cotton farmers should cultivate there than cotton should the programme of the state the official further demands. Restoration secondary systems like rural employment, health is also needed to stop these on going suicides but nobody is acting in this direction more over misleading press releases are adding fuel to extremely critical situation in vidarbha, as per Kishor Tiwari of VJAS.