Left not convinced by PM's plan to boost farm sector

New Delhi, May 30 (UNI) The Left Parties today asserted that the Congress-led ruling coalition would continue to pay a''heavy price'' for ignoring ''rural economy'', if adequate investments in the form of soft loans provisions and guaranteed renumerative prices were not made for the farmers to arrest agrarian crises.

Terming ''totally inadequate'' the government's fresh initiative to boost the farm sector, top leaders of the CPI(M), CPI and the Forward Bloc said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's Rs 25000 crore plan for the next four years to boost agriculture sector would not be of any help at all.

In the wake of severe problems plaguing the agriculture sector, such as dismal growth, continuing spate of farmers' suicides, food insecurity and inflation, the Prime Minister at the NDC meet yesterday announced a slew of emergency measures, including a Rs-25000 crore plan to help states boost farm sector.

The leaders said it was a very small amount for about 12 crore and 30 lakh peasants in the country, which comes less than half-a-rupee each farmer per year.

They came out with several suggestions, including the enactment of Rural Indebtness Relief Act to provide relief to farmers, forced to commit suicides in various parts of the country.

CPI(M) Polit Bureau member M K Pandhe ''deplored'' the government announcement saying it would not help the rural poor.

''This amount will not even reach the needy farmers as the administration is controlled by the rural rich,'' he added.

Mr Pandhe, said the PM had not come up with special steps needed to contain the agrarian crisis.

''The government approach is half-hearted, which simply means that the rural crisis will continue to deepen,'' Mr Pandhe warned.

Asked whether the government's fresh initiative would help contain the rising agrarian crisis, CPI leader and party Group leader in Parliament Gurudas Dasgupta said, ''Not at all, since this is a half-hearted measure.'' He came out with a number of suggestions to ease the situation on the agricultural front-- heavy investments in irrigation projects, provision of four per cent simple bank loans and guaranteed renumerative prices for farm produce.

''The Manmohan Singh government will continue to pay heavy political price for ignoring agriculture sector,'' he said in an obvious reference to the Congress electoral defeats in Punjab, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.

CPI National Council member and Lok Sabha MP S Sudharkar Reddy endorsed Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Y S Rajasekhara Reddy's suggestion at the National Development Council meet yesterday that banks should give farmers loans on a three-per cent simple interest.

He also made a strong case for pumping more credit to the rural areas and crop insurance among other things.

Describing as ''mere gimmick'' the PM's announcement, Forward Bloc leader and Rajya Sabha MP Debvrat Biswas alleged the government was out to encourage corporate farming to benefit MNCs and industrialists.

UNI