BHUBANESWAR : Some political promises are made to be broken. The BJD is no exception.
Amid growing pressure on his government over farm loan waiver ahead of general elections in 2019, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced a Rs 10,180 crore scheme called Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) to woo the farmers.
The regional party made 12 promises in its election manifesto for agriculture and farmers welfare. While asserting that its flagship KALIA scheme will continue, BJD promised to set up a commission to monitor its implementation and also for recommending revision of rates after three years. The first Cabinet meeting of the BJD government after returning to power for the fifth consecutive term gave its stamp of approval to the party’s election manifesto. All election promises became government programmes.
Meanwhile, three years have passed but there is no sign of such a commission. There has been no instruction from the government to the Agriculture department to initiate the process for setting up KALIA Commission whose main objective was to look into the problems of the farmers and advise the government for taking necessary measures to provide relief for augmentation of farm output.
While senior officers of the department are tight-lipped, sources said, “The issue was never discussed at any level. Since this is a political promise, instruction must flow from the top. The office of the Chief Minister is the competent authority to take a call on it.”
The KALIA scheme is still shrouded in mystery as the government is not ready to provide any information about the number of farmer beneficiaries and how many installments have reached how many farmers.
Ganesh Nayak, a farmer from Sanakhemundi block of Ganjam district, said that he was given KALIA certificate before the 2019 election but did not receive the assistance. After running from pillar to post, Nayak came to know from the district officials that he was not entitled for the assistance as he has no ration card in his name.
“I was issued a KALIA certificate by the government as I am a small farmer with 2.5 acre of agricultural land. I am entitled for the assistance as per the government scheme but no one is listening,” he said.
During the last week meeting with Agriculture Minister Arun Sahoo over release of seed production incentive, Nayak expressed his plight and requested his intervention.
“I showed the KALIA certificate to the Minister who assured me to look into it,” Nayak said. Had there been a KALIA Commission as promised by the government, the farmers could have got a forum to register their problems. The government officials are not cooperative, he said.