Subsidy on seeds, additional quota of kerosene, LPG demanded

New Delhi, May 29 (UNI) Uttarakhand today urged the Centre to provide subsidy on seeds and organic farming, enhance the quota of wheat, kerosene and cooking gas, and launch a Fisheries Technology Mission to enable the State to boost agricultural production and enhance food security.

Addressing the 53rd meeting of the National Development Council here, Chief Minister B C Khanduri expressed concern that the high growth the country was experiencing was unevenly spread across sectors and regions.

''The decline in agricultural share in the State's economy has not only created severe imbalances but also led to growing impoverisment of a large segment of our population, escalated agrarian tension and precipitated large-scale rural urban migration with all its concomitant consequences,'' he said.

To help the state increase agriculture output, he asked the Centre to give subsidy to the Uttarakhand Seed and Tarai Development Corporation as provided to the National Seed Corporation or the State Farm Corporation of India.

The Centre should also subsidise by 50 per cent the seeds of hybrid rice and maize to enable the farmers to adopt these crops, he said.

He also made out a strong case for subsidy to organic farming at Rs 1000 a hectare per annum (or 55 paise a kg of produce on average) for hills states which have not received subsidies on fertilisers or pesticides and other chemicals since the advent of Green Revolution.

The Chief Minister also requested the Centre to enhance the wheat quota from 1,666 MT a month to 12,000 MT a month as the Hill State had limited scope for increasing food production due to lack of assured irrigation.

Further, to meet local demand as well as pilgrims' demands and to reduce the growing pressure on forests, the kerosene quota should be increased from 9,571 kl a month to 14,000 kl a month, he said.

''A similar enhancement in the LPG availability would go a long way in reducing the drudgery in the lives of the rural poor in our State.'' Maj Gen (Retd) Khanduri also sought Central assistance for executing soil and water conservation projects targeted to deal with soil erosion that eats away 88 per cent of the State's land at the rate of 10 tonne a hectare per annum.

Pointing to the State's potential of 62,000 MT of fish production per annum, he asked the Centre to launch a Fisheries Technology Mission on the lines of Horticulture Technology Mission.

He also higlighted the problems of small farmers, saying they were deprived of remunerative prices as they had to sell their produce to middlemen due to inadequate marketing infrastructure.

''These problems need to be addressed with appropriate policies and measures.'' About the State's future plans, he said, ''We propose to export walnut and off-season vegetables.'' UNI