Senior Voices

In favour of the rural poor and farm sector growth FM has attempted to reconcile the goals of growth, stability and equity V Kurien   In the Budget for 2005-06, the Union finance minister has attempted to reconcile the goals of growth, stability and equity. In view of the predominant position of agriculture and rural sector in the Indian economy, the minister has appropriately made efforts to include a number of initiatives for development of this sector. The minister has claimed that the National Common Minimum Programme (NCMP) which is being pursued by the current UPA Government, leans towards decisive intervention in favour of the poor. By his efforts to revamp the Food For Work Programme, the Antyodaya Yojana and the Integrated Child Development Scheme (ICDS), the minister seems to have redeemed the Government’s pledge vis-a-vis the rural poor. Referring to the need for comprehensive infrastructure development in the rural sector, the minister has made a number of promises in his Budget speech to secure effective implementation of the “Bharat Nirman” Project mentioned in the President’s address to the current session of the Parliament. The Minister described the “Bharat Nirman” Project as a business plan for the rural sector underlining development of the following six key aspects of infrastructure: irrigation, roads, water supply, housing electricity, and telephone connectivity. Additional allocations have been made in the Budget under each of the aforesaid areas over and above the outlays provided for under the previous year’s Budget. What is important in this respect is not only the amount of funds pumped in from the government exchequer, but also the way the schemes are implemented on the ground. One hopes that clear-cut modalities for using the funds effectively on the field will be evolved by the government as a follow-up to the allocations made under this year’s Budget, without which I am afraid, such investments can hardly achieve their purpose. One feels happy to note that the National Horticulture Mission announced in the previous year’s Budget has long last been decided to be launched in April 2005 (a fairly satisfactory level of investment at Rs 6,030 crore having been set apart in the Budget under reference). It is good that the mission seeks to adopt an end-to-and approach of development involving integration of both backward and forward linkages for achieving a comprehensive development of horticulture sector in the country. I, however, regret to note that while the minister had indicated in the previous year’s Budget the government’s desire to adopt the Anand Pattern of Cooperative (APC) structure for implementation of the mission, there is no mention in this year’s Budget about how the Anand Pattern of Cooperatives is going to be put in place for achieving the goals of the mission on the ground. The writer is Chairman, Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation

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