Centre to give Rs 25,000 cr aid to farmers: Pawar

Mumbai, Aug 31 (UNI) The Union government has given 'additional Central assistance' of Rs 25,000 crore under National Agriculture Development scheme for five years period to the country to be used for innovative schemes for the development of agriculture.

The announcement to this effect was made by Union Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar after a meeting, which was attended by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, Deputy chairman of the Planning Commission M S Ahaluwalia and others.

''This amount is aid and not a loan,'' the Minister clarified.

Mr Pawar said Mr Deshmukh made a presentation on the agriculture sector and needs, apart from the need to complete the irrigation projects.

He said the state's irrigation is at 19 per cent, while the country's average is 40 per cent and stressed that efforts should be made to take the state's irrigation percentage at national level.

Mr Pawar said a committee of Chief Ministers of both Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra along with Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission and others will be formed in which the issue of how to complete the pending projects will be discussed and then this committee will submit its report to the Centre.

The Minister also said the state is doing well in agriculture credit policy.

Mr Pawar said the issue of Vidarbha, where many debt-ridden farmers have committed suicide, was discussed in the meeting and Chief MInister had requested to include some new schemes in the Prime Minister's package of Rs 3,750 crore announced earlier.

When his attention was drawn towards the farmers' suicides, Mr Pawar said he did not want to comment on the number of suicides, but there was a ''substantial drop in the suicides of debt-ridden farmers and media is not doing justice in highlighting what government is doing for the farmers.'' UNI JM SSS VD KP2225