Govt pre-poll goodies poised to rain on ryots

NEW DELHI: The government is set to announce more sops for the weaker sections of the society — the farmers, rural folks and hawkers.
Among the announcements expected to be made on Tuesday after the Union Cabinet meets, is the setting up of a National Commission for Farmers and a national policy for urban street vendors.
Also in the works is a proposal to relax the regulations for the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme to ensure wider coverage, setting up of more Krishi Vigyan Kendras in rural districts and a programme to provide urban infrastructure in rural areas.
For the well-heeled, the Centre will ensure that the Bangalore international airport becomes a reality. A draft concessioning agreement is to be cleared at the meeting tomorrow.
The proposal to set up the national commission for farmers was announced by Prime Minister A B Vajpayee on August 15, 2003 with a view to signalling the government’s commitment to ringing in a second green revolution, on the lines of the White Revolution and the first Green Revolution.
The proposed commission will cover a whole gamut of agriculture-related issues, including disbursal of farm loans, rate of interest charged and implementation of the crop insurance schemes.
The commission — the first national body of its kind — will address the grievances of the farmers. It will suggest policy measures to ensure that cultivators get the right price for their produce and better means of risk management.
The relaxation of the Accelerated Irrigation Benefit Programme would ensure that the coverage of the programme is widened to ensure that a larger number of small and marginal farmers benefit from the scheme.
The Bangalore airport had received in-principle clearance from the Centre. The airport is being built by a consortium of Siemens, L&T and Zurich Airport. The Centre holds 13% stake in the project through the Airports Authority of India (AAI), which will provide air traffic control (ATC) services at the new facility.
The Karnataka government also holds 13% and a number of concessions have been extended to the consortium on the strength of the state government’s strong push.