BHUBANESWAR: Bhubaneswar MP Aparajita Sarangi on Friday slammed the Odisha government over poor plight of farmers and their declining income. Citing a report of the All India Debt and Investment Survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation (NSSO) between January and December 2019, Sarangi said the average value of assets of farmer households in the State was estimated at Rs 6.21 lakh which is the poorest in the country.
As per the latest NSSO survey report released this month, Odisha has figured in top 10 states (rank 9) where maximum farmer households have a high incidence of debt.Sarangi said that the numbers are distressing after the State government announced Krushak Assistance for Livelihood and Income Augmentation (KALIA) scheme for farmers in 2019.
The Situation Assessment of Agricultural Households and Land and Livestock Holdings of Households in Rural India-2019 conducted by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation showed that the average monthly income of an Odisha farmer was Rs 5,112 as compared to Rs 7,731 during 2015-2016. The income was second lowest after that of farmers in Jharkhand (Rs 4,895).
“There has been no significant investment in the agriculture sector in areas like irrigation. Hardly any investment has been made for separate mandis for cotton, maize, onion or any other vegetable produce for which farmers have suffered immensely,” said Sarangi.The BJP MP also targeted the government over incidents of violence against women in the State.
National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) 2020 report reveals that the crime rate against the women in Odisha has gone up to 112.9 cases per 1 lakh population as against 103.5 in the previous year. The State has ranked second in terms of violence against women in the country while Assam is at rank one, she said.
She also expressed concern over the pendency of police cases on crimes against women.
About 9,386 cases are pending investigation by police, 1,35,313 cases are pending trial and conviction rate of crimes against women was 9.2 per cent in 2020.“While Mission Shakti has turned into a hollow slogan for economic empowerment of women, crime against women has been increasing at an alarming rate in Odisha,” she stated.