CHENNAI: The second term of NDA government, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the helm, has just begun.
People of Tamil Nadu had many grouses during his first tenure such as inter-State water disputes, implementation of NEET, hydrocarbon projects and deficiency in assistance in the aftermath of Cyclone Gaja.
BJP did not win a single seat in the just-concluded Lok Sabha elections. While the opposition said the defeat was due to an ‘anti-Modi wave’, BJP blamed the opposition for its ‘false propaganda’ against the Modi government.
Now that Modi has got the people’s mandate for the second time, farmers associations and political analysts say that the Union government should focus more on agriculture and rural economy rather than urban economy.
Arupathy Kalyanam, general secretary, Federation of Farmers Associations in Delta Districts and founder of Self-Sufficiency Green Villages Movement told Express that the Modi government should immediately give up the hydrocarbon, methane extraction and GAIL projects.
He says of the total natural gas reserve in the country, only three per cent is in Tamil Nadu and as far as crude oil is concerned, just one per cent is available.
“For getting this small portion of natural gas and oil, agricultural resources should not be destroyed. There are alternative methods to get bio-methane. Around Rs 10,000 crore that is to be allocated for the eight-lane green corridor between Chennai and Salem should be diverted to develop rural railway projects.”
“In India, there are around 6.40 lakh villages and of them, the Centre should select around five lakh villages and work for redeeming them as ‘self-sufficient green villages’. Unless such a paradigm shift is made, migration of rural people to urban areas cannot be stopped. Value addition for agricultural produce should be made where they are produced.
This alone will create rural employment generation. It is not a proper method to make value addition after transporting the produce to a place 500 km away from the place of production. Corporates and multinational companies cannot assure employment generation,” he said and added that in the next five years, the NDA government should ensure that allocation for defence and agriculture are equal.
“The interest rate fixed for agricultural loans should be reduced to a maximum of four per cent. Institutional finance is available only to 35 to 40 per cent of farmers now. This should be increased to 80 per cent.”
ALSO READ | DMK's secularism plank needs to be pitched in other Indian states: Stalin
Political analyst Tharasu Shyam too concurred with the view that rural unemployment and indebtedness are the two serious problems prevailing not only in Tamil Nadu but across the country. Merely providing more loans to rural people will not solve their core problems. The government should take steps to increase their income instead.
Key expectations of Tamil Nadu from Modi government:
Withdrawal of permission given by Central Water Commission to Karnataka government for preparing a Detailed Project Report for Mekedatu project.
Withdrawal of permission to Kerala for conducting study for the construction of a new Mullaperiyar Dam.
Not to proceed with Dam Safety Bill.
Improvements and rehabilitation of irrigation systems in the Cauvery Basin for efficient irrigation.
Disbursal of over Rs 5,000 crore share of IGST from Centre.
Payment of GST compensation.
Expeditious disbursal of funds for various projects.
Giving up hydrocarbon, methane extraction, GAIL and the eight-lane green corridor projects.
Measures for improving farmers’ income.
Steps to solve rural unemployment and rural indebtedness.
Implementing infrastructure development projects.