CHALLENGES BEFORE THE UP GOVERNMENT
CROP LOAN WAIVER:
At the first Cabinet meeting convened by UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, he decided to waive off crop loans of ~1 lakh each for 860,000 farmers and write off bad loans of another 700,000. The cumulative cost to the state was put at ~36,359 crore — possibly more, says Agriculture Minister Surya Pratap Shahi. Adds Rajesh Agarwal, finance minister: “Much thought went into it. It was a pre-poll promise that had to be redeemed.” How will the government handle its fiscal situation after absorbing such a huge amount? “We will contain leakages and stop corruption,” said Singh. Deputy CM Dinesh Sharma’s response: “We hope to double productivity with neem-coated urea, crop insurance and higher rates for produce.” A bureaucrat close to the CM said “unnecessary expenses” would be curtailed.
FARM INCOMES:
Agriculture Minister Shahi said he was “dismayed” that under the earlier Samajwadi Party (SP) government, farmers’ incomes barely grew. Their purchase target, he said, was four million tonnes (mt) of wheat a year but only 1.2 mt was taken in 2016 (the annual output is 25-27 mt). The new government proposes buying eight mt this year, after having raised the purchase rate from ~1,200-1,300 a quintal to ~1,700-1,800 a quintal. Potatoes, another UP staple, sold for ~280-300 a quintal, got a leg-up when the government bought 100,000 tonnes at ~487 a quintal, pushing the market price to ~550 a quintal. “These are small measures but the cumulative effect will be significant,” says Shahi.
INDUSTRIAL POLICY:
Adityanath’s slogan is to create a ‘Vibrant UP’ a la Gujarat and, therefore, although the BJP had rapped Akhilesh Yadav’s investment summits as “photo sessions”, this government plans to host one in October or November. Satish Mahana, industrial development minister, is fine-tuning a “new” policy. The promised highlights are no crony capitalism (that has allegedly run the sugar industry to the ground), a separate police to protect industrial estates and clusters, 24x7 power supply, time-bound clearances and streamlined procedures. Mahana says average investment was stuck at ~4,000 crore annually for the past 15 years, except in 2013 when sugar mills and state units were divested.
SAND MINING:
Once a money spinner, sand mining scares the government because it brought disrepute to the earlier BSP and SP administrations, for alleged patronising of criminal syndicates. Sand used to sell for ~2,000 a sq ft and is now ~20,000 a sq ft after the high court banned mining and sale. Although the HC cleared the Yogi government’s new policy, the government has not issued a notification so far. Truckers have refused to transport sand for fear of the police, the construction business is depressed and daily hands are out of a job.
SUGAR:
Suresh Rana, the minister of state (independent charge) for cane development and sugar mills, sounds at ease with figures. He said 85 per cent of the payment arrears of mills to farmers have been cleared by the government. How did he coerce the private and cooperative mills? “Everyone listens to us, nobody dares say no.” He claims cane growers of western UP have promised to raise an additional 200,000 hectares this year on land that was used for growing fodder.