The debt-ridden Punjab government has now demanded that the whole state be declared a special agricultural zone, in recognition of the state?s services during the ?Green Revolution? and its role in feeding the nation.
Deputy chief minister Sukhbir Badal told FE on Monday that he, along with chief minister Parkash Singh Badal, had met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh this week and handed over a letter and requesting him to declare Punjab as a special agricultural zone (SAZ), on the lines of SEZs. According to the letter, ?The border state of Punjab, with 1.3% geographical area, is contributing 70% wheat and 40% rice to national pool?. The letter also suggested that ?the Centre should recognise the role of Punjab in making India self-sufficient on the food-security front?.
Sukhbir said the time had come for the Centre to come out with a long-term package to enable farmers of the state to augment agricultural production and meet the growing demand of food for the increasing population. He added that making Punjab a special agricultural zone will be a ?panacea?for all the problems that the state is facing today and would also revive the old glory of Punjab as the top state in the country. He also questioned that when industries can be given incentives in special economic zones (SEZs), why is agriculture being ignored?
While proposing a blue print for the SAZ, Sukhbir said it should also include assured free power supply to the farm sector, along with tax-free subsidised agro inputs like fertilisers, pesticides, seeds and diesel. Besides, there should be guaranteed marketing and export of agro products at price-linked rates and the revitalisation of an age-old canal irrigation system at a cost of Rs 3,400 crore.
Sukhbir also demanded the reimbursement of Rs 3,160 crore incurred by the state in providing free power to the farm sector, till Punjab is declared an SAZ. While justifying the supply of power to farmers free of cost, Sukhbir said it was being done to enable them to contribute a maximum share of wheat and rice to the national pool. GS Virk, former joint director, agriculture, told FE that Punjab is passing through serious agrarian crises, with a debt burden of Rs 35,000 crore on the farmers, of which about Rs 22,000 crore is an institutional loan of various banks and the remaining Rs 13,000 crore is the debt to money lenders and commission agents. The per-household debt in rural Punjab is the highest in the country at Rs 41,576, against the national average of Rs 12,585. Debts to money lenders account for a huge burden due to very high interest rates, around 24% per annum at times, charged by commission agents. He informed that Punjab Agriculture University , Ludhiana , recently surveyed debt ridden farmers and found a startling 2,890 suicides in the state during the years 2000-2008.
The Punjab CM?s letter to the Prime Minister expresses similar sentiments and says, ?Punjab is bleeding itself to a slow death to keep India alive due to the over exploitation of groundwater. Even Nasa has warned Punjab that if it continued to draw groundwater at this level, the state would become a desert within the next 10 years.?