NEW DELHI: NITI Aayog Member Ramesh Chand has told DMK working president M K Stalin that he has been advocating agricultural marketing reforms to boost farmers income.
In an e-mail to the DMK leader, Chand clarified that he has been arguing for bringing reforms measures in agricultural marketing under the Central or the Concurrent List of the Constitution. The NITI Aayog Member, incidentally, sent the mail to the DMK leader, sources said, after he levelled accusations that the NITI Aayog and its members have been speaking against the spirit of co-operative deferalism.
Chand as Member of NITI Aayog had shared a blueprint with the state governments through three years action plan of the think tank panel on doubling of farmers’ income by 2022. He had listed a number of reforms in the agricultural sector which could help achieve the ambitious target of doubling of farmers’ income by 2022. However, since the state governments have not taken up the reform measures despite consistent persuasion on the part of the Centre, Chand had argued that a few of the steps should be pushed through Parliamentary intervention.
Amendments in laws concerning Agricultural Produce Marketing Act (APMCs), Land Leasing, Essential Commodities and private investment are key, according to Chand, for doubling of farmers’ income by 2022.