NEW DELHI, July 12:
Pitching for fast-track dispute resolution for farmers, Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal today said efforts should be made to help cut down unnecessary legal expenses for them.
Citing an example, he said, farmers in some cases spent huge amount and time in fighting cases related to approach link to farm lands.
“Such cases continue for years leading to unnecessary expenses by farmers in travelling to district headquarter, paying fee to lawyers etc. Can there be a mechanism to resolve such disputes in fast-track manner by district administration so that their income is protected,” he said at a function organised by Nabard here.
“Can it be one of the important agenda of district administration,” he said.
Cutting down unproductive spending can also lead to improvement in income as one would spend money for productive usage, he added.
Meghwal also said State Level Bankers’ Committee (SLBC), District Level Consultative Committee (DLCC) should include in their agenda the mission of doubling farmer’s income.
“We should work hard towards achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s dream of doubling farmers’ income by 2022,” he said.
The Prime Minister has unveiled a seven-point strategy to double the income of farmers with measures to step up irrigation, provide better quality seeds, crop insurance and prevent post-harvest losses.
Applauding the Fasal Bima Yojana launched by the Prime Minister, he said, it is a very innovative scheme which will help protect farmers’ income.
Strengthening of the cooperative movement can also play an important role in increasing the income of farmers, he added.
Speaking at the event, Nabard Chairman Harsh Kumar Bhanwala said that the bank will play an important role in saving farmers’ income through various credit and non-credit interventions in partnership with the Government, state governments, banks, and other agencies.
With small and marginal holdings constituting 85 per cent of the total holdings in the country, the task of doubling real income of farmers by 2022, though a challenge, is not insurmountable, he said.
The Government has decided to institute a dedicated Long Term Irrigation Fund (LTIF) in Nabard with an initial corpus of Rs 20,000 crore for fast-tracking the implementation of incomplete projects under Pradhan Mantri Krishi Sinchai Yojana (PMKSY), he said.
Bhanwala also said operationalising LTIF with an initial focus on 23 identified irrigation projects in nine states with a potential to irrigate 18.6 lakh hectares, was a high priority area for Nabard. (PTI)
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