Deccan
Chronicle: THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Friday, 27 February 2015.
The State is
getting ready for another annual Budget but there are a dozen agriculture-related
schemes of previous years yet to be implemented.
An RTI query
filed by DC revealed that the Central and State schemes like National
Agricultural Insurance Scheme (NAIS), the national project on organic farming,
promotion and strengthening of agricultural mechanisation, seed infrastructure
and farmers’ welfare fund board remained on paper.
The reply
from the deputy director of agriculture (planning) says six projects announced
in the State budget during the first year of the UDF Government (2011-12),
notably the NAIS, Kuttanad and Idukki packages and agricultural extension
programmes at Kerala Agricultural University, are to be implemented.
No action was
taken on farmers’ welfare fund board and pilot scheme on income support
(2012-14) and the new scheme to set up automatic weather station, farmers
welfare fund board, pilot scheme on income support and agricultural
mechanization (2013-14).
An
agriculture department official told DC that the NAIS was one of the flagship
projects that would have helped the State to deal with the flood and drought
situations by providing compensation packages to the affected farmers.
Regarding the
KAU agricultural extension project, a KAU official confirmed to DC that the
project is vast and varied, but fund utilization never happened as the State
Government never transferred funds.
“By not
implementing the projects, it is affecting only the farmers. The pilot scheme
on income support was meant for making farmers self-sufficient.
Promotion and
strengthening of agricultural mechanism were meant for providing tractors,
tillers and harvesting machines to farmers which has also not been
implemented,” a department official told DC.
When DC put
forth the question before top agriculture department officials on the current
status of the Kuttanad and Idukki packages, they were unable to give a
convincing reply.
But P. Ajay
of Kottayam Nature Society told DC that few months ago, local MP Kodikunnil
Suresh had lamented about the Kuttanad package’s tenure being over.
“But now
posters and banners congratulating Prime Minister Narendra Modi have come up in
some areas of Kuttanad saying the package has been extended.
Earlier
granite bund was being done which was systematic, but now pile and slab system
is being initiated. Unfortunately ecological restoration has never been done in
Kuttanad,” said Mr. Ajay.
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