BHUBANESWAR: The Opposition Congress today targeted the state government and the Centre in the assembly for betraying the farmers by not implementing the promises made to them resulting in
increasing number of suicide.
The issue cropped up during discussion on the admissibility of an adjournment motion notice brought by the opposition Congress members on the plight of farmers and apathy of the state government and the Centre. "Both the BJD government in Odisha and the BJP led NDA government at the Centre have made false promises to get votes," leader of the opposition in the assembly Narasingh Mishra said participating in the discussion.
Referring to the election manifesto of BJD for 2014 elections where in it had promised to provide irrigation to 10 lakh hectares in the next five years, Mishra asked how much irrigation potential has
been created after four years in government. "Though four years have passed since 2014, can the minister say how much land has been irrigated so far?" Mishra asked.
Calling the BJD government a "habitual liar", Mishra said the state government in 2006 had promised 35 per cent irrigation in every block of the state. "What is the result in 12 years? Have you achieved the goal?" he asked.
"Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik in a statement in the Assembly has said that 1,96,000 hectare in Sonepur district have been irrigated while the cultivable land area in the district is only 1,10,0000 hectare. This shows how aware the government is of facts," he said.
The Congress leader criticised the state government for its failure to complete even a single medium or major irrigation project during the 18-year BJD rule in Odisha. He said while the state government failed to complete the Lower Suktel Project within 18 years, it has not started the work of Ong irrigation
project though it got the sanction in 1999.
Hitting out the BJP government at the Centre, Mishra said though Prime Minister Narendra Modi had announced to revise minimum support price and make it one-and-half time of the cost of food grain
production nothing has been done in four years. "The prime minister could not even find time to meet Odisha Assembly's House Committee on the MSP on paddy. Though the Assembly passed an unanimous resolution to make Rs 2930 per quintal of paddy as the MSP, the Centre rejected it. The farmers in Odisha spend Rs 2344 to produce one qunital of paddy and get Rs 1550 per quintal as MSP," he said.
Criticising the state government and the Centre for neglecting the farm sector leading suicide by farmers in Odisha, Congress chief whip Tara Prasad Bahinipati alleged that farmers are in distress allover the state because of the false promises made to them by the BJD and BJP. BJP members Basant Panda and
Rabinarayan Naik criticised the ruling BJD for not giving bonus to farmers and not following the Centre's guideline to protect crops from the pest attack.
Stating that production of foodgrains has increased in Odisha because of government encouragement to farmers, government chief whip Amar Prasad Satpathy alleged there was no response from the prime minister's office even after Speaker wrote a letter for an appointment with the prime minister for the house committee on MSP on paddy. Countering the opposition allegations, Satpathy said the number of farmer suicide in Odisha is one of the lowest.
Making a statement in response agriculture minister Pradip Maharathy described the allegations by opposition members "baseless" and said it has no meaning as Odisha has received the Krishi Karman
Puraskar from the Centre for the fourth consecutive time. The state government is committed to farmers' welfare, he said and claimed that Odisha has been able to double the farmers income within this decade.