'Govt should correct farm policies'
In an apparent attack on the policy pursued by the previous United Front and NDA governments, Planning Commission's Deputy Chairman has urged for corrective measures in the nation's agriculture policy.
By PTI |
NEW DELHI: The Planning Commission on Monday asked the Centre to "correct" farm policies in view of the deceleration witnessed in the sector since 1996.
The commission’s Deputy Chairman, Montek Singh Ahluwalia, also pitched for "massive" infrastructure investments to put India on 8.0 per cent growth trajectory, while reiterating Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's view that annual average annual growth was unlikely to exceed 7 per cent in the Tenth Plan.
Ahluwalia said in his address to the National Development Council on Monday, "One of the areas where corrective policies are urgently needed is agriculture, where it is absolutely essential to reverse the deceleration witnessed in the years after 1996."
The Planning Commission Deputy Chairman asked the Government to "re-think" the effectiveness of current strategies both in irrigated and dry land areas.
He indicated towards the need for imposing user charges, as the present water charges were only one-fifth of the operation and maintenance costs and rural poor had not benefited from it.
Ahluwalia said a mere ban on new tube-wells would not help since it will give monopoly to existing pump owners, as free or very cheap power was contributing to the problem of excessive withdrawal of ground water.
The commission’s deputy chairman said that the mid-term appraisal had called for a more rational electricity pricing. The appraisal also suggested different farm-sector electricity pricing in areas where ground water has been severely depleted.
"The policy of subsidizing micro-irrigation should also be linked to groundwater status so as to promote these systems where ground water depletion is most serious," he said.
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