'46 pc PM's funds for Vidarbha farmers spent'

Nagpur, July 22: About 46 per cent of the Rs 3,750 crore special relief package announced by Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh for the distressed farmers of the Vidarbha region has been spent so far, Maharashtra Chief Secretary Johnny Joseph said.

Speaking to newspersons here yesterday, Mr Joseph said Rs 1,727 crore was spent during the first year on various schemes under the package announced by Dr Singh in July last year.

The amount included Rs 825 crore on interest waiver on outstanding loans, which had benefitted 9.33 lakh farmers, Rs 743 crore on irrigation, Rs 48.29 crore on seed replacement and cropping intensity, Rs 65 crore on watershed development, Rs 18.65 crore on horticulture development, Rs 22.93 crore on micro irrigation and Rs 3.95 crore on strengthening farmers' self-help groups (SHG's), he said, adding, the Prime Minister's package was to be implemented over a period of three years.

Mr Joseph said a total of 578 farmers had committed suicide in Vidarbha this year so far. Of these, 85 were found eligible for compensation by the state government, while 50 other cases were still under investigation.

Replying to questions, he said the Prime Minister was scheduled to visit Maharashtra some time in August to review the plans to boost growth in the agriculture sector. The exact dates and the place of the visit has not been decided as yet.

During a meeting of the National Development Council in New Delhi in May, it was decided to make efforts to achieve a growth rate of 4 per cent in the agriculture sector, and all states were asked to chalk out plans accordingly, Mr Joseph said.

Dr Singh would visit several states, including Maharashtra, to review the plans, he added.

Earlier, Mr Joseph presided over a meeting of senior government officials to review the implementation of the Prime Minister's relief package for the region's farmers.

UNI