Farmers package amount will be increased, if necessary: Chavan

Nagpur, Aug 12 (UNI) The Union and the state governments are continuously monitoring the implementation of the Rs 3,750 crore Prime Minister's relief package for farmers in the Vidarbha region and the amount will be increased if necessary, Union Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office Prithviraj Chavan said.

Speaking to reporters here yesterday, Mr Chavan said Prime Minister Manmohan Singh would visit Maharashtra some time after the ongoing session of the Parliament to review the implementation of the package.

However, it was not certain if Mr Singh would visit Vidarbha, he said.

The Centre had, in fact, announced packages for 31 districts in 4 states in the country, namely Maharashtra, Kerala, Andhra Pradesh (AP) and Karnataka, Mr Chavan said, adding that Mr Singh had already visited Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka for a review and would also visit Kerala for a similar exercise.

The Prime Minister's package was a long-term measure and that its effectiveness should not be assessed within a short span of a year, he said.

Over Rs 2,100 crore of the package for Vidarbha, announced by the Prime Minister here in July 2006, had been earmarked for the completion of pending irrigation projects in the region, he pointed out.

Replying to questions, Mr Chavan said the government has appointed the Radhakrishnan Commission to study to problem of indebtedness among farmers in the country and to suggest remedial measures. The report of the Commission is awaited, he added.

Meanwhile, eight debt-ridden farmers have committed suicide in the last two days in Vidarbha, according to Vidarbha Jan Andolan Samiti (VJAS), a voluntary organisation. The eight farmers who ended their lives included three each from Amravati and Buldhana districts, and one each from Akola and Yavatmal districts, a VJAS press release here said.

Over 1,500 debt-ridden farmers had committed suicide in the six worst affected districts of the region since the Prime Minister's package was announced on July 1, 2006, the release added.

UNI