BOOSTER DOSE FOR FARM SECTOR, OUTPUT UNCERTAIN
Life insurance of 5 lakh to cover 11 lakh farmers; interest-free loan to all owning up to 5 acres, will cover 10 lakh growers
CHANDIGARH: With the state heading for assembly polls in 2017 and it being the concluding budget of the SAD- BJP government, finance minister Parminder Singh Dhindsa made several populist announcements for farmers. Of the total allocation of ` 7,490 crore for agriculture and allied sector, the government will spend ` 200 crore on a loan scheme under which interestfree crop loan of ` 50,000 per crop would be given to farmers with land holdings of up to 5 acres. The subsidised 4% interest on such loans would be borne by the government. Over 40 lakh farmers, comprising around 20% of population, could benefit.
The government will also provide insurance cover to 11 lakh farmers’ families under its scheme named Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Bima Yojana that mandates that ` 5 lakh would be given to the family in case of death or disability of the head of family.
Dhindsa, who has often claimed that he belongs to a party of peasants, the SAD, also launched a pension- cum provident-scheme for farmers.
“The beneficiary (farmer) will pay an annual contribution for at least 10 years. On 60 years of age, the farmer would be paid monthly pension equivalent to the interest on corpus,” he said in the speech.
Economist RS Ghuman said, “Farmers must get pension, but the scheme needs clarity.”
5,600 CRORE FOR FREE POWER
With Dhindsa also announcing ` 5,600 crore to give free power to farmers, experts say that the major portion of this money would go into paying bills of tubewells that are expected to cross the figure of over 13 lakh by the middle of 2016-17. Water is being exhausted at a much faster rate than it is being recharged. For paying compensation to families of farmers who end their lives, ` 10 crore has been set aside. The budget also gives ` 315 crore to Punjab PAU.