Looking at the mushrooming skyscrapers, plush eateries, malls and other state-of-the-art landmarks across the national capital, it is hard to imagine that the famed Green Revolution took root in Delhi before making a countrywide sweep and ushering in an era of bountiful harvest.
With the relentless march of urbanization and the ever-extending footprint of modern infrastructure leading to an increase in demand for vacant land, farmers across the national capital are being pushed to the margins. Most of the city’s farmers, largely inhabiting areas bordering Haryana, are losing out in the face of this urban ingress and are being forced to sell off their land as opposed to taking up cultivation.
As Delhi shed the tag of an agricultural state, which it once held very dear, its farmers, too, lost out on the benefits to be derived from central schemes. “The idea of tilling my fields and raising food crops just doesn’t appeal to me anymore. With little or no benefits or incentives, farmers in Delhi, these days, have little option but to sell off whatever land they hold and make some money out of it. While the mantle of governance in Delhi passed from one party to another over the last two decades, not one cared to safeguard our interests. And, to this day, we remain a neglected lot. I don’t want my children to take up farming as I see no future in it,” Sardanand Tyagi, a farm owner at Shikarpur village, told this correspondent.
Tyagi’s fears are not unfounded, as the estimated 20,000 farmers, who currently reside in the national capital, have been crying themselves hoarse in the quest of some relief from overpriced tilling equipment and electricity charges at commercial rates. Agriculture is no more an enticing option for the city’s farmers, unlike neighbouring Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, which are considered agricultural states, as the the National Green Tribunal (NGT) had put a ban on diesel-run tractors more than ten years old. The same was part of sweeping measures announced to rein in runaway air pollution. However, last year, the Centre did relent on the farmers’ plea to keep tractors out of the list of banned vehicles.
However, the assurance did little to ease curbs on farmers to buy tractors. In a bid to get around the rules in place, farmers are now buying tractors and getting them registered in the name of a relative in Haryana, only to have it borrowed later for use. However, there’s a hole in this ploy. What if the relative changes his mind?
Lack of intent
Last year, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government announced a slew of initiatives to bring some relief for the city’s farmers, but none could be implemented effectively.
In 2018, the Delhi government decided to provide a subsidy of `105 per kilo watt every month on fixed electricity charges for farmers. “Delhi government is of the firm view that electricity is a basic requirement for farming. The agriculture sector in the country is already under stress and the Delhi government is committed to the welfare of its farmers. Therefore, this scheme has been introduced,” read a statement issued by the government at the time.
However, subsidy hasn’t proved to be of much relief for farmers, as they are still being charged for electricity at commercial rates. Farmers in the Shikarpur area said that the electricity expense for every acre comes to more than `3,000 per month. Not to mention the additional expenses for labour, harvesting, fertilizers and seeds, taking the overall cultivation cost beyond sustainable limits and reducing the margin of profit significantly. They said there’s nothing in the way of incentives by the Centre or Delhi government either.
Three-member panel
In December 2018, Development Minister Gopal Rai put together a three-member committee to rationalise rates of various commodities essential for the cultivation of paddy and wheat. The move was deemed in line with the recommendations of the Swaminathan Committee, which said the minimum support price (MSP) should be at least 50% more than the weighted average cost of production.
However, the party, which once ran for power on the promise of implementing the Swaminathan Committee report, now finds itself much reduced from its exalted heights in the eyes of the city’s farmers.
In January, the AAP government held a ‘Krishi Sammelan’, inviting various stakeholders in the agricultural sector to the secretariat for further discussions on the recommendations of the Swaminathan panel.
According to the panel, the total cost of cultivating wheat in Delhi per hectare is `1,744 and for paddy, it is slightly higher at `1,778. It further said the average production, per hectare, stands at 45 quintals for wheat and 48.5 quintals for paddy.
It was decided that the panel’s recommendations could be implemented at the cost of putting some more burden on the exchequer. However, the meet, featuring members of Commission for Agricultural Costs and Prices (CACP), Food Corporation of India (FCI), Indian Agricultural Research Institute, officers of Telangana agriculture department and other farmers’ representatives, also considered replicating the Telangana model. Under this model, every farmer is sanctioned a grant of `4,000 per hectare before he begins cultivation work. As part of the plan, which was implemented in Telangana in May, 2018, the K Chadrashekar Rao government handed out more than 50 lakh cheques to farmers.
Stumbling block
According to the AAP government, central rules stipulate that a state government would have to meet the cost of developing infrastructure and creating storage facilities if it offers more MSP to farmers than the Centre. “We will write to the Centre seeking an exemption with respect to this circular,” Rai said at the time.
He held public meetings in farming areas of Narela and Nazafgarh to get more grassroots feedback on both the proposals. A report based on the inputs from these meets was to be submitted to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal by February. But nothing much happened on this front.
“The central government announced a minimum income support of `6,000 every year to households of small and marginal farmers but this government refused to implement it,” Saurabh, a farmer in Shikarpur, said. Another central scheme, under which a select few are sent to other parts of the country every winter to study the agricultural practices there, came to a halt as the AAP took power, the farmers said.
Gulab Singh, the AAP MLA from Matiala assembly constituency, did not respond to calls and messages on this.
Voicing concern over the non-implementation of the Centre’s relief package for farmers, in the city, in Parliament recently, BJP MP Vijay Goel said, “Under the provisions of the scheme, state governments need to send the list of eligible farmers to the Centre for disbursal of funds. However, the Delhi government still hasn’t done it.” Rai could not be reached for a comment on this till the filing of this report.