Mamata dole to burn Rs 15 crore hole in treasury
KOLKATA: The cash-strapped Mamata Banerjee government, desperate to woo rural voters ahead of the panchayat elections, has decided to provide financial assistance of Rs 5,000 to 30,000 farmers in the state.
Even as the proposal was cleared by the state cabinet on Tuesday, parliamentary affairs minister Partha Chatterjee couldn't say whether this would be a plan allocation or extra budgetary provisions will be made to garner the required Rs 15 crore.
Chatterjee said, "In keeping with chief minister Mamata Banerjee's slogan that agriculture is our pride, the government has decided to provide assistance to poor and marginal farmers."
He said that those with kisan credit cards would be eligible for this largesse. Block development officers (BDOs) will prepare the list for each block.
The chief minister has been building the pitch for the panchayat elections for the last six months even though she has been crying herself hoarse over the bankrupt treasuries. Among her most popular pro-farmer measures is the kisan credit card (KCC) which aims at freeing farmers from the clutches of money lenders. A farmer with a KCC would be able to access bank credit at 7% seven per cent interest. The rate would be lowered to 4% four per cent on prompt repayment. While the cash incentive would be paid to 2,400 farmers in rice bowl Burdwan, 2,200 in West Midnapore and 1,988 in South 24-Parganas would also get it.
Earlier, the government had cleared the decision to hand over Rs 8,000 among 31,000 farmers for switching over to electricity-run pumps from the existing diesel-operated ones. For this, another Rs 25 crore has been allocated. "Along with the financial dole, the farmers would be given sickle and other agricultural tools," Chatterjee said. The rural polls, likely to be held in April, is crucial for the CM as 17 of the rural councils across the state still belong to the opposition. Mamata is desperate to wrest all the zilla parishads from the CPM.
The chief minister, who has started touring the districts and campaigning for the panchayat elections, will start distributing the farming equipment soon.
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